Saria's Last Song
by Silence-Darkness
Summary: A FF7Zelda. In time, people change, eras rise and fall, worlds change, friends become enemies. Join Link in his travels through the twilight of space, and the anguish of the Planet.
1. Default Chapter

A/N: I always had this idea, long before the Odyssey blade. I just never found the right inspiration and finesse to write it. Now, after months of deliberation and deep pondering over the value of writing it, I've come to the conclusion that I might as well try it out – can't get worse than not existing, after all.

Disclaimer: This story is the production of Final Fantasy 7 and Legend of Zelda. I do not own the rights of either of these games, and hereby announce that it would be to your folly to claim my ownership over them later. They are the creations of Square Inc. and Nintendo respectively, and I will be grateful if everyone acknowledges that. (I love high-end speaking… just too hard to do in real life)

Prologue:

_Traversing through the winding paths of tunnels, plants and hollowed trees would have leaded you to many paths. You could cover lands, jumping from the Southern forest to the great mountains and tumbling waterfalls of the country. Some paths might lead you to a more mystical destination, to countries far with the moon doomed to lurch down to the lands. Most paths lead you to nowhere, leaving very few that heralded lands unknown._

_You had to be extremely lucky or unlucky, to find those._

_Otherwise, you just had to be very lost._

_Such was the case of a certain teenager. His garb appeared to favour the colour of green, his hat and tunic dyed that colour. Blond hair cascaded past his shoulders and strands looming over his blue eyes. What would have distinguished him most from other people were three things: all the weapons he carried around, the fairy floating amicably around him and his green haired friend._

_"Tel tak," Guess who, the girl giggled, blocking the boy's eyes with her hands. She was a child with wisdom shimmering behind her eyes, donning the same colour as the boy. Her name, to all those that knew her, was Saria._

_"Ter, se jenova."__ Alas, I've forgotten. The blond boy replied. The term boy was a bit misleading, for he was bordering the age of eighteen. Not yet a man, not yet, but definitely not a boy. Strength of skill, experience and magic coursed through him like his very blood, and given the Triforce of the deity Farore was the Hero of Time, Link._

_"Neth quilina?__ Las, ro cei se novri." Can't remember? Pity, how far I've fallen. Saria sighed, mocking great disappointment as she withdrew her hands. Her own fairy glided over to her shoulder, supplying pretended consolation._

_"Qri, qri, se'l jerai il cun tes Termina."__ Yeah, yeah, I'm finding the way to Termina. Link grumbled, staring at the looming passage as if that will supply the answers he wanted. No inspiration arrived, so it appeared that no solution came._

_"Tand tu la airal Shail?__ Nost melqe si qai'ie xion." Land of the setting Moon? Don't tell me we're lost. Saria sighed disparately, shaking her head at her friend's memory. It was all in fun and games anyway, so no harm was done._

_"Si tri xion.__ Lis wei jerai il cun." I'm not lost. Just finding the right way. Link muttered, scratching his head in confusion. He knew it was there somewhere, but his last point of view was really through the scrub and grass, his attention diverted more on clinging on for dear life that remembering his passage. Strangely enough he smiled at the memory, despite the excruciating pains of shape changing and the continuous knowledge of failure. _

_It was a ten minute wait of staring at his possible routes before Saria decided it was enough. "Pilin tilan, Link, meri si nox erta."Let's go, Link, I'll get us out of here. She yawned. Deftly she flicked out a pale wooden ocarina from her own pouch and started to play._

_Link knew the magic that his friend wielded. She was given the title of Sage of the __Forest__ for a reason, and music was her means of communicating with the nature spirits. The sweet melody echoed throughout the Lost Woods, calming the angry and delighting the calm. _

_"Il Kustice mek si'n ixo __tara__."The Nature spirits say we go that way. She claimed after a while of listening through music. "Si'nt jerai, tes si'nt quo naa. En fros ul xion qe ich nui ichau."We'll either find it, or we'll head back. The chances of us getting lost is one in a thousand._

_She was right, for the protective magic granted from the fairies and Saria herself made sure that they avoided any traps. Given knowledge from the spirits that resided in the maze made sure that headed roughly the right direction. Weapons clanking, Link followed behind Saria's graceful steps, his faith ensured that the magic would either bring them to Termina or back to the __Forest_

_It was a one in a thousand chance they would go elsewhere. A statistic so negligible his confidence was placed well._

_Yet misfortune falls on anyone, and that period their luck failed them._

_-_

It was to the scenery of hilly, grassy lands did the group disembark. Each one hopping over off the red plane, they surveyed their surroundings, some in appreciation and some in confusion. It was to a short duration did everyone come to the same conclusion.

"We're lost," Cloud, the leader of the group decided to point out. "I don't think the Temple of the Ancients would be placed here."

Cloud brought his fingers up to brush aside his dirty blond hair. The most prominent feature of him was his eyes, a swirl of pale green and blue that was linked to the process of making a SOLDIER, infusing them with the mako energy that ran through the earth. Black garments were his preferred norm, symbolising his distance from the job he once had, the job he once fought against. Before he would have carried a rifle, but now his weapon was the behemoth of a sword strapped to his back.

"I'm blamin' you." Cid growled, pointing a finger rudely at a brunette with red eyes. "This is the last time I'm trusting a lady to navigatin'." He and Barret were known for their crude attitudes, but his life of smoking, wild steering and tempers granted him an attitude not to be messed with. That his sharp glance was accompanied with a sharper spear helped give that air about him.

The brunette herself puffed up with indignation. Known as Tifa, she placed her hands on her hips and gave Cid a tough glare. "Me and navigating? I was telling you where to go, but you wasn't listening!"

"Bah, you had the compass the wrong way round anyway! I was lookin' at Aeris' map!" He defended himself, shifting his finger away from her and to the girl sitting next to her.

Aeris in question blinked at that. Her eyes known for their warmth were covered briefly by her eyelids and she looked down at the diagram she had held in her hands. "This?" she tried to clarify, raising what Cid thought was a map, "oh, that was just me drawing the coral we saw." Sheepishly she hid it behind her back.

Cid groaned. "An' my point still stands. Not trusting a lady to navigatin'."

"Perhaps we should worry about that later, and see what provisions we can obtain from this island. I do believe I saw a village up north." Red VIII commented, raising his head towards the midday sun. He looked the most odd of the group, namely because he didn't look human. More of a wolf/lion mix that was streaked with red hair. Peculiarly, for one that looked most untamed he was the one who never lost hold of reason.

Barret, a dark-skinned man with one arm replaced with a gun, nodded to that. "Sounds like a good idea, and I'm starving waiting here."

It was a general agreement, and sounded understandable. Yet someone didn't want to.

"Eh heh, let's not, shall we?" Yuffie sweated out. To her back was strapped one of the largest throwing blades one might have ever seen, and being the group's ninja she didn't look like one, yellow clothes and all. "Why don't we wheel back and see whether we can get stuff elsewhere?"

"Can't," Cid replied gruffly, "short on fuel. Unless you wish to drive 'alf the way an' swim the rest, we need to stock up."

"Come on, Yuffie, what harm can it be? Unless you know what's up north." Cloud tried to reason. He turned to the group to address them on the situation, and that was the moment she chose to bum-rush him, dashing past him, hopping on everyone's heads and running away.

"What the heck?" Cid cried to her retreating form. "What's the matter with ya?"

Cloud grimaced. "Bad time to have a disagreement in the group. Anyway, she went the direction we're going, so there shouldn't be any more problems."

Before they could reorganise from the unexpected disturbance, voices were heard yelling at each other.

"You idiot, this isn't the right way!"

"What on earth are you talking about; you can only go north and south!"

"Yeah, and we're going south! You see the sun? It's behind us!"

"Well, why didn't you correct me last time?"

"I did, you just didn't listen, dolt!"

Barret glanced at Cloud. "It looks like we're not the only ones with navigation problems."

A bush to the right rustled, and a man in blue armour stumbled out. "Don't push me, you subordinate!" Angrily he turned around, readjusting his visor and helmet. He froze suddenly when he saw Cloud.

"Damn, SOLDIERs," Cid snarled, "you lot are everywhere, grabbing everything!"

SOLDIER: the elite of the soldier class, trained for the protection and upholding of the Shinra corporations. They were loved by many and hated by few, but since the death of President Shinra himself, the prestige of joining the ranks of a SOLDIER dropped significantly, more banding together as resistance against the further expansion of Shinra.

The other SOLDIER stumbled out, alerted by the noise. "Hey, I recognise that face!" He yelled, aiming his gun at Aeris. "I saw you once with the Turks! She's a runaway!"

Aeris was known for her calm exterior. She was a sympathetic, gentle girl that used to be a simple flower girl. Fighting for months however taught her the necessity of violence, as wild monsters could only respect one thing: brute force. That two men with the capabilities to defend themselves were aiming guns at her was enough for her to kindle up her magic…

…it was to her surprise that all her Materia were missing. Materia, solid essence of the knowledge of the Cetra, were now a necessity to cast magic. Condensed mako energy sealed within a chamber of experience created the perfect magic crystal, and when attached to the user bestowed powers above imagination. That every single one of all those crystals were missing was something definitely to be surprised about.

With a yell Cloud charged forward, his sword rushing towards the startled SOLDIER. In a moment of surprise, the SOLDIER's aim was too high and only grazed Cloud's neck. Solid metal cleaved right through protective armour and the soft flesh within, the SOLDIER's final screams muffled by the blood frothing from his mouth. With a quick twist he yanked his sword out and dropped the tip back into the SOLDIER's chest.

"One left," Cloud stated plainly, turning his attention to the shaking man.

"Wh- what type of monster are you?" He croaked fearfully, taking a careful step back. All his training whizzed through his mind, him trying to pluck _anything_ that would help. Barret didn't allow him to speak any further; a volley of bullets being his answer.

Was the streaming hail half a second long, the armour would have been able to take the hits. A second, and it would have cracked, but left the person inside very much unaffected. The SOLDIER didn't stand a chance, with Barret not stopping until he saw him collapse on the ground. The bullets shredded the armour like chaff, penetrating further and cracking bones and tearing sinew. The man died before he even struck the ground.

"Damn that girl," Cid snarled, "wait 'til I can wring her neck with my own hands… I'm going after her."

Cloud considered the request before nodding. "Fine, Cid you come with me. Aeris, since you're the most unprotected without Materia I want you to stay back here with Red and Barret. Tifa, let's go."

The SOLDIERS were a delay long enough for Yuffie to reach the town and hide away as needed. The moment her foot touched the border of the town, deep inside the Mountain that was patron to their deities, a heart started beating, life returning to the body, and a single word escaped the entity's lips.

"Saria…"

-

A/N: And there you have it, the prologue of this new story. I will endeavour to describe everything as though no one has seen FF7 before, so tell me how well I'm doing. If you never played FF7 before, that's great, for your criticisms will be a great benefit to me.

But for those that played FF7, here's what's going on so far:

If you haven't guessed it, they're in Wutai (I can't remember the name of the town, so can anyone help there?) They didn't get Vincent yet Aeris is still alive For the rest of the story, the introduction of the person sealed in the Mountain will skew the following slightly: it'll end with a battle against Sephiroth, but the in betweens will be changed for originality and fluidity. 

Please review your opinions on this. Oh, and this story is dedicated to the works of:

H7: Act 1: Trial of a Man

Yanslana: Castle in the Sky

And as it will appear slightly later on… Icy Mike Molson: The Road Less Travelled.

This story is dedicated to them for the inspirations their stories have created. Any similarities to an extreme degree would be purely coincidental with those stories or anyone else's. If anyone is suspecting plagiarism, please bring proof of it and I will happily (sadly) take this story down.

Thank you.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Bugger Doesn't like square brackets. Probably won't like curly braces either. I wander what I can use now… Ah well, I'll manage.

And a special thanks to H7, who helpfully provided me with the information asked to help create this chapter. Half the thanks should go to her, and you guys can show that by reading her fanfiction J and damn, for a year of not playing, your memory is a hell lot better than mine (me stopped playing three or so months ago).

And a thank you to Exdeath ) where I used his FF7 walkthrough as a guide to what happened. Personally, it's not the most detailed I've seen, but it's good for my story. Three cheers to him, and his site slipping past the school computer system!

Chapter 1: Free

It was to a world of science did they appear. Navi stared in awe as machines pumped water around the entire metropolis, watching the various see-through glass filtration systems cleanse what was once sewage to burnable fuel and clean water. A craft of amazing magnitudes hovered overhead, its silent emissions propelling it at speeds they never saw before.

_Saria__ on the other hand was horror-struck. A single glance showed the subjugation of nature, the dominant creatures of this place oppressing the will of the Earth. Appalled she saw the faint flows of life pulse in the ground, slowly dying out against the glow of industry. _

_"Teil… Serol Termina?" /Wow… this is Termina?/ Navi breathed, spinning in circles as she tried to absorb the ambience surrounding them. Saria stared shell-shocked at the damage done to the Planet._

_" Fori__ seth qiuro va siuri letemp si nort hara." /Unless they changed in a short time I don't think so./ Link frowned slightly, disliking the blaring sirens in the distance. A small aircraft, probably capable of supporting one man streaked by, the sun illuminated off its titanium cover as three larger crafts chased after it, red and blue lights flashing with the noise._

_One detached from the chase, choosing to change its trajectory towards the group. Saria squeeked in fright as the air pressure of its landing shoved them aside. Out of the craft came two men, surprisingly tall compared to the group, both donning blue uniforms with grey straps on the chest area._

_"£&!" One of them drawled monotonously, flipping out a notepad._

_Link stared in confusion. "Nio?" /What?/ Navi bobbed in agreement as they tried to decipher what the man said._

_"£&! &$/#" the man asked insistently, pulling a pen from his jacket and using it to point at Link's sword._

_Saria__ detached her attention from the lines of power coursing through the Planet and to the man. Concentrating briefly, she passed her question telepathically. /Sorry, what was your question?/ _

_The uniformed men jumped slightly, repeating their question hesitantly. /State your name and weapon ownership ID./ Saria paused for a moment before relaying the message to Link._

_Needing an ID for a weapon was a new thing to Link. Providing there was no misconduct with the weapon, a person could proudly wear their trade on their person without retribution from the law enforcement. __"Si're Link, et nous qorin tel shaxix vol." Saria wiped some sweat off her head from the strain before sending /I'm Link, and never needed a weapon ID./ _

_The two men shared a glance. Grimacing, one muttered something and gestured towards the craft. "Hur qire vont perisns astrie zara." /He wants us to go into the craft./ Saria said to Link, who with some reluctance obliged. It never had been a real problem before, but tight spaces disturbed Link slightly, as they confined motion and meant that if someone attacked from a side there wouldn't be much space to try and dodge with. Hesitantly he took off his shield and sword to fit in the doorway. _

_-_

_It was incredibly hard work for Saria, to cast her thoughts into the mind of others for an hour-long interview and translate their speech so Link could understand. Navi and Shael, Saria's fairy, fluttered in nervous anticipation as the questions and answers never seemed to end. What the interviewer could gather was that they were all foreigners from an unknown land, they were unused to this level of technology and were requesting time to deal with the changes._

_In the end of the interview they were given special passes that would act like a passport, described to them as a 'microchip interface' system which only needed them to touch it against security panels next to doors._

_Exhausted from the ordeal Saria collapsed down onto a cold metal bench, Link sitting next to her and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Shul sti vrai," /You did good,/ Link reassured raising his view to the lifeless concrete ceiling above, "shul sti vrai." /you did good./_

_Shael__ had chosen to stay within the protective zone around Saria, but Navi decided to venture through the winding corridors and explore the new world. Buzzing around people's heads and startling the younger ones, she watched amazed as pale glows of ceiling lights brightened the halls, their shine varying in accordance to the environment. The world of science was a whole new world, an entire globe to be explored and discovered, new knowledge to be given and secrets shared. _

_With each door she passed she peered in, disrupting the work of the people inside with her presence. Each of her visits was accompanied with gasps of awe and surprise and foreign words as they pointed and whispered. One door lead to a long passage, passing large glass tubes filled with red liquid, preserving strange and deformed creatures inside. As she examined each one, her disgust grew with each view as she noticed the incisions and unnatural cuts which suggested experimenting. Her revulsion grew as a man slowly hobbled over to her, one eye leering at her through a monocle and the other one replaced with glass. Fading black hair looked like it was going to drop off any time, signs of that by loose strands left on his white lab coat. Giggling maniacally, he reached for a net before hobbling after Navi._

_Glancing nervously at the deformed creatures surrounding the laboratory, it was very blatant what his intention was. She shuddered at the thought of needles being passed through her body as the madman surveyed and catalogued her organs. _

_She knew when danger was threatening her, passing through battle after battle with Link. Revolted at the man she fled from the room, chased by his insane laughter and the clink of his limping leg._

_"Ikso ri!"__ /Let's go!/ She cried to Link, Saria and Shael. Confused and surprised by her fear and panic, they grabbed their items and followed her down the hallway, not knowing that she was propelled by fright and did not know where she was going._

_Frantic at the mad sniggering following them she darted into a room, waiting for everyone to get in before pressing a button near the door in hope it would seal it. There was no luck there, but instead a siren blared and on the wall figures appeared in neon green and pulsed with each second that passed. Frightened that he knew where they were now, she shoved Link into another room, pulling Saria along and urging Shael to follow. Once they were all in Link closed the door._

_The siren blared loudly one last time before their 'room' shuddered. Looking through the transparent roof they gasped as the ceiling above opened up to the blue sky, and with one final quake the entire room was pushed up, and up, and up…_

_Saria__ gasped at the sight, as blue sky faded to black space and the planet disappeared beneath them. The rocket they were in stopped releasing the fire needed to propel it, and their resistless motion carrying them further._

_Glancing worriedly at each other, they all reached the same thought:_

_They were now in space, and had only each other and magic to depend on. Link's Triforce piece shimmered slightly as the planet drifted out of sight._

_-_

Tifa was a fairly good thief, as it seemed her duty to steal off any monsters the group met in hopes of useful equipment and items. Yuffie was a better thief, being a ninja and all. There was just one thing that differed a ninja from a thief: the ninja could hide damn better.

That was becoming one pain in the neck for the group. As they ran after Yuffie, Cloud dispatching the odd Shinra Soldier as they came along, all he could garner was that the Turks were around. Cid knew that Yuffie was a ninja (she didn't try to hide that fact from him, stealing his cigarettes for reasons of her own all the time), and as they rushed into her home town he was expecting a fortress, armed with black garbed men who danced a deadly twirl, all hopping around on the sentry borders and ready to slice his throat.

He really wasn't expecting it to be a… docile, calm, _tourist _town.

"So much for a thief hideout," Cid grunted, flicking his cigarette to the ground and stamping it out, "not very fancy, ain't it?"

"Whether it's populated by tourists or thieves I don't care." Tifa said caustically. "All that I really care about is that Yuffie is somewhere around here, and we better find her."

Searching through the town didn't garner any results. There was nothing wrong with the locals, they didn't get in the way, but they didn't help Cloud's search either.

"Kisaragi? You're not buying weapons? Well too bad anyway, as we're not selling right now. Come back another time!" said the door of 'Honest Wong's Honestly Good Blades'. Despite the door being locked, Cloud was sure Yuffie wasn't hiding there as the only voices heard were two men yelling at each other about good business and bad customers.

"This is stupid," Tifa sighed, wiping her hair out of the way, "everyone is going to take her side and not ours, and it's not like we're going to see her walking down the street!"

Cloud raised an eyebrow at that. Nudging her lightly, he commented, "Isn't that Yuffie's shuriken leaned against that wall?" True enough it was, being the right size and shape and having the cartoon cat face she had drawn on the centre with yellow paint.

"Hidin' in a house. I thought she would 'ave had more style." Cid shrugged. There of course was the ethical issue of entering a house uninvited and armed to take down an army, but that didn't stop Cid. Kicking the door and ignoring the startled gasps of its residents, he stormed in. Wincing and shaking her head, Tifa entered after him.

"I can tell the locals don't like us already." Cloud muttered to himself as people muttered about indecency. Ah well, damage done, no point crying over spilt milk. Bowing apologetically to the residents, he joined the rest in their search.

"Ah, hello stranger!" An old man greeted cheerfully. "Excuse the poor hospitality; I can't offer any snacks right now, but give me a minute and I'll make us some tea. Would you like jasmine or green tea? Or would you prefer remedial ginseng?" Despite his kind words, the old man didn't move from his seat. At a quick glance Cloud could see that he was blind.

"Dad, these people just barged in! You don't act nice to burglars, do you!" The little girl whined.

Cid scowled. "Listen kid, we're just huntin' for some thief wearing yellow. We ain't gonna be a bother, providing you let us do a quick check or you tell us whether you saw her." Tifa shook her head; trust Cid to be as blunt as ever.

Huffing the girl spun on her stool, grumbling about nasty tourists. A look around showed nothing, but that was just as well – you wouldn't expect a thief to leave a sign of her passage. Checking rafters, corridors and all the rooms projected nothing. Tifa rifled through the curtains.

"She's not here," Cloud stated as he walked out of the house, "just finish your spot check and meet me later."

They nodded at that, and just as Cid was about to leave the house Tifa decided to tidy up just to be courteous. Straightening the curtains, she shifted the Japanese screen slightly, revealing a crouched Yuffie.

Surprised, Tifa took a step back as Yuffie lunged out of her hiding spot, whacking Tifa's chin lightly with the bag of stolen Materia. As Cid turned around to the commotion, she flicked a peanut straight between his eyes before hopping away.

"I'm really gonna love her excuse for this." Cid growled, scrambling after her quickly departing form. Cloud was many steps ahead and running almost parallel to Yuffie. Struggling to keep up to her pace, he called out but in vain, his voice just pushing her to run faster.

As the group gathered at the bridge, Tifa took the time to appreciate the scenery a bit better. Contrasting the light blue sky was the dark red tiles of the roofs, wooden bridges used artistically to enhance the nature of the river that flowed through the town. The pebbles arranged along the river slowly brought your gaze to its source in the mountain nearby, the stone carved with the patron god of the island.

"Let's split up: Tifa, you just check the places we checked earlier in case she doubled back and hid there. Cid, you guard the exit of this town. I'll check the direction she went." It was a reasonable order, so with a moment's delay the three departed to their set allocations.

-

It was a memory that first came to the man held within the mountain. His first memory was of his past, one of laughing children at play with fairies dancing near them. It was of festive meals at night, where berries and assorted vegetables were eaten around a great bonfire. The memory that followed after was the last thing he remembered: fire swirling around him, control lost to the spell as the ground cracked and rose, lava frothing beneath him as he fell into his fiery prison. Bitterly he chuckled; so was the punishment for letting so many Cetra die, so was the punishment for making such a mistake. Everything could be drawn back to that one choice…

But now wasn't the time for reminiscing on the past. Now, he was awake, and the first thing he would do is finding a way out of this blaze. He briefly pondered on the fires dancing around him: he must have been unconscious for a short time, or his magic was a lot stronger than expected. With his luck, it would most likely be the latter.

Gingerly he shook his emaciated body free of the soft rock that held him. Surprisingly even though an inferno blazed around him his skin was relatively undamaged, a trace amount of magic managing to keep him protected. A gift from the gods. It was more a croak than a chuckle that escaped his mouth as he considered the irony of that statement.

Looking around him, it was apparent most of his equipment was reduced to molten slag. It was disappointing seeing such trusty items brought down to such a state, and it was painful since most of it wrapped around his skin like a demented piece of armour. All what remained undamaged was the ocean blue ocarina, a memento of magic past and battles conquered…

He blinked away the tears that slowly welled up in his eyes. Enough of the horrors of history, time to just set some few simple facts straight.

"My name… is Link. Navi… is gone.

Saria is… gone as well."

-

A great pagoda that bore the height of five stories was the sight that greeted Cloud. Craning his head higher, he would have taken the time to appreciate the intricate carvings if he wasn't so pressed with urgency. To his left appeared to be some ceremonial hut, to his right a mansion, the word 'Kisaragi' printed on the sign nearby.

Shrugging, it was worth a look at. Who knows, she might feel more secure in her own abode that anywhere else.

The house was really a ninja's house, trap walls and disguised passageways nearly on all corridors. As Cloud progressed through the house, he once tumbled past a scroll covering a passageway, dropping him in an underground maze. Trapped chests littered the entire place, but with some difficulty he managed to get back into the house, rubbing his hand where some of the chests snapped shut as he opened them.

Deciding to stay in the lighted decorated hallways led him to a man snoozing in the room. Even in sleep Cloud could see that his muscles once rippled with impressible strength, but time had taken away some of his edge, light exercise being the only thing preventing him from gaining unneeded weight.

"Welcome to… the Kisaragi mansion… please feel free to use… the spare rooms… at your leisure." The man snored out, only sparing a glance at Cloud before dropping back to sleep.

"I'm grateful for your hospitality," Cloud thanked, "but I came to ask you whether you saw a girl wearing yellow and a brown sack ran by. She was carrying a large shuriken too, and her name was Yuffie Kisaragi."

The man snorted slightly as he adjusted his position. "Ah, my daughter Yuffie," he yawned, scratching his belly, "last time I saw her was… what? Half a year ago? She wanted to strike out in the wider world, leaving poor old Godo behind."

Cloud assumed that the man's name was Godo, and wondered how someone so _lazy_ could have taught a daughter with so much energy. Anyway, it didn't look like Yuffie came by, and even if she did she could have crept by without awakening her father. "Thanks for your help anyway, and I'm most grateful for your generosity."

Godo raised his arm, lazily swinging his wrist in a circle, a gesture of dismissal. "Think nothing… of it, I should… always be proper to guests. Feel free to explore Wutai, and please enjoy the tourist sights."

It was at that moment a rafter opened up and Yuffie popped out. Angrily she placed her hands to her hips, yelling to her father: "It's you who brought Wutai down to this pitiful state! You just gave up when you could have kept fighting on, bringing such a proud warrior town to simply serving to tourists! Da-Chou would be ashamed of this town, and ashamed of you!"

Godo rolled to his feet, all laziness gone and a stern face replacing what once was calm. "Know your place, Yuffie, you have no right to judge my decisions. Were we to keep fighting I assure you we would have lost more than just the battle!"

Yuffie was about to pelt out another string of accusations when she noticed Cloud. Eyes widening and lips paused in mid action, she quickly dashed away, using the same peanut trick to distract Cloud.

"Forgive my daughters impertinence," Godo apologised, deflating slightly, "she is too wrapped up in the past victories of Wutai. Eventually she will have to accept the present truth, even if I have to force her to."

Nodding Cloud chased after her, wondering why on earth they had to land on this blasted island. Stuck in a wild goose chase, he might have to give up to tell Barret, Aeris, and the rest to rest in the inn. Ah well, jogging's good for the heart.

Tifa this time spotted where she chose to hide this time, her hopping through the window of the most northeast house. Glancing at the following Cid and Cloud, she gestured to the house before running through the more sensible open door.

Like any house, it had a wooden interior and red tiling, but the main difference was that instead of human inhabitants, most of them were cats. Cid shuddered slightly.

"Wretched animals; Lord I hate 'em. I'll be waiting outside." Diverting his eyes from meeting anything furry, he shuffled his way out.

"Didn't know he was ailurophobic. Learn something everyday, my old teacher used to say." Tifa commented as she carefully trod where there wasn't any fur or droppings. Yuffie may like cats a lot, but didn't spend enough time to potty train them. Cloud accidentally tripped over a cat, gathering hisses as they dodged out of his tumbling form. Arms flailing for a grip, he managed to catch a doorknob, swinging open a closet holding Yuffie.

"Why won't you guys give up?" she whined, using Cloud's head as a stepping-stone as she dashed for the exit. She didn't manage to escape so successfully this time, Cid holding tight to her wrist as she passed him.

"You got a lot of explaining to do," he rumbled, a maniacal gleam in his eye, "and I seriously want to hear what it is."

Yuffie struggled slightly before surrendering. "Fine," she said glumly, "follow me."

-

As he staggered along the caves, Link used the wall as a guide. The longer he traversed the passage, the closer he believed he was getting to the exit, for after a while drawings of some great sea serpent were etched on the walls along with some praying man. Link hoped that meant that somewhere nearby was a settlement he could find.

He gripped the ocarina tightly as his mind passed on his friends. Navi, gone by the horror that struck them all. Saria, changed irreversibly by his incompetence and that very same horror. And his magic, reduced from a bonfire down to a snuffed candle.

The three things that he would most deeply miss, tears had been wept for them before, and tears would be released later, but now his priority was food and clothing. That thought raised the image of Saria, smiling and dancing to the music of the forest, much unlike the last time he saw her.

Heh. Sometimes he felt she was his only friend. Time, that accursed thing, changed what she was with each event. A friend. A caretaker. And finally… an enemy.

-

"We used to be such a force," Yuffie told sadly, "comparable to a tsunami crashing against the beach. A war machine, some would say, unrivalled in its power and skill. And yet, despite such praises, we warred, and lost. Cloud, you heard what my father had to say; we were outmatched. So proud a nation reduced a weak rump state that's only income is farming and tourism."

She laughed bitterly, raising a scroll that had fallen from the wall. "You see this room? It used to be an interrogation room, once to extract information from prisoners of war. Now, from disuse and lack of need, this entire building has been converted to a house."

"And what does this have to do with you nicking all our Materia?" Cid asked gruffly.

"I was six when we lost that war. It was not weaponry that made us lose, nor was it skill. Our forges were bettered beyond comparison at that time, and training sessions arduous and unmerciful. It was magic. Under the torrent of lightning and fire, our ninjas crumbled beneath, either from surrender or lack of faith. For a long time I believed that Materia would be the key to restoring us to our former glory."

"Be that as it may, stealing from us is wrong." Tifa said sternly, crossing her arms. "Return the Materia and I'll leave it as just you trying to achieve your dream."

Yuffie sighed, leaning against the wall. "Fine. You see that computer in the far side? Pull the left switch."

The story didn't work out as Yuffie said, however. As Cloud pulled the lever, a great rumbling was heard before a cage was dropped on Cid and Tifa. Cackling in amusement Yuffie elbowed the secret panel behind her, dropping cold water and flapping fish on the contained two.

"I hold strong to my dream! See ya!" Laughing her head off she walked leisurely out of the basement as Cloud struggled to get the cage to lift. Tifa angrily spat out a mouthful of water and dislodged a fish from her hair. "Cid, I'm first in line," she muttered irately, "no one else is wringing her neck before me."

"She's just a kid, she's just a kid," Cloud repeated the mantra, rubbing his temples, "oh hell with it. Tifa, ladies first but men just before."

Running around in hunt for Yuffie wasn't really a pleasurable activity. It wasn't any better for the eyes to see Don Corneo again. Fat with dyed blond hair and still wearing raunchy red garments, he waddled more than walked. Despite his poor physique, he managed to grab Yuffie's collar and some other woman.

"Oh, hello you and you. Couldn't carry out on your threat, could you? I'm still in one piece!" Bellowing what mean to be a dramatic laugh, he took a few steps back before they could carry out with it.

"Let me go, you fat pig!" Yuffie flailed and kicked to no avail.

Don Corneo chortled at her cries. "Lively, isn't she? Makes it the entire better. You got some competition coming up, blonde lady."

'Blonde lady' in question was known as Elena, one of the Turks. Her black uniform didn't allow for much movement, so all she could do was glower at him. "You don't get away with angering the Turks!" She warned dangerously, eyes glinting an angry hue, "I swear, you'll have one messy death if I can help it!"

Shrugging Don Corneo waddled off. Used to death threats already, he hardly paid any attention to what she was saying. Her voice managed to pull the attention of two Shinra squad soldiers. Raising their guns, they would have brought him down to a mash on the floor if he didn't whistle for two of his newly recruited goons to take their attention.

Of course, two brawlers wouldn't stand much of a chance against military personnel armed with guns. Dispatched quickly, the Shinra squad were angry that Don Corneo slipped by. Directing that anger against Cloud and the rest wasn't a smart idea though, as they suffered a bashed skull and cracked ribs for their effort.

"Don't you hate how Shinra is everywhere?" Cloud muttered, strapping his sword to his back. "Four Shinra squad men, and now over there the Turks."

Reno and Rude approached, black uniforms adorned in the same manner as Elena. Rude slowly raised his fists at the sight of Cloud, but Reno calmed him down quickly enough.

"We're meant to be on holiday, let it rest. Aside from this setback…" Reno's voice dropped slightly as he swore a string of curses. Recomposing himself, he addressed Cloud directly. "I believe that a companion of yours has been taken as well. For now, I consider it beneficial if we not fight and work in finding chunky together."

"Ya heard that shiny? Today's not your day to be pummelled." Cid called out offensively at Rude. Bald jokes weren't taken by Rude very well, and that he was judged as a loser didn't help matters.

"Listen, you foul-breathed punk, why don't you say that one more time?" He snarled, the Materia stored in his jacket alighting with energy.

"We believe he went up the mountains." Reno called out as he led Rude away before any confrontation was made. "We'll meet you up there."

-

Link straightened with his first breath of fresh air. Inhaling strongly, he smiled at the tranquil scenery beneath him. There were the residents down in the town below, some children running at play. There were even five people taking a hike up this mountain as well.

As he unsteadily climbed down to meet those hikers he noted the unnatural smoothness of the rock. Must have been carved, and looking to his left shown what was apparently an ear. Impressive, the entire mountain must have been turned into some giant statue. He frowned at that implication; if it took fifteen years to chisel away a statue that large, that meant he would have been entombed for at least fifteen years.

No matter, Link concluded, he could garner the date from those hikers later.

-

Don Corneo chortled at his handiwork. Tied to the rock face were Yuffie and Elena, never mind their complaining. He grinned as Cloud's group arrived first.

"Get me away from him! I'll give back all your Materia, I promise! Just get me away from him!" Yuffie cried out, struggling against her binds.

"Careful there girly, wouldn't want to fall down, would you?" He giggled, patting his belly at his ingenuity.

"Listen, just let them free and we'll not grind you down to mush." Cloud threatened, pulling free his large sword as Tifa flicked her claws on and Cid twirled his spear. The Don peered at their weapons, as if examining their worth.

"Ha ha, you won't be touching me, but I can't say the same for you! Go, monster, go!" With the loud call a beast climbed from below, standing protectively in between Don Corneo and the group, a ferocious grin plastered on its face.

It was dangerous, with them short on Materia. It was smart, with it being able to be tamed by Don Corneo. It was…

"Good Lord that is ugly!" Tifa said disgustedly, "What on earth is it?"

"_Rapps_," a soft voice mentioned behind them. Twirling around in surprise, they weren't expecting the blond teenager clutching a blue object. Looking starved, tired and what appeared to be metal melted to his skin they didn't expect him to have the energy to even speak. "It's an ancient word for Poisoned, as this creature's mind and body has been contaminated."

They quickly wheeled so that they were facing the monster, judging the teenager not a threat. "That's nice and all, but how do you kill it?"

"The best way would be to cleanse its spirit, preferably by some priest."

"Does it look like we're priests?" Cid growled as he blocked the Rapps attempt at gouging his head off. Twisting his spear he smacked the blunt end at the monster's throat before following up with the blade slashing against its belly.

The blond man shrugged. "Then just hit it with all you got. It'll die eventually." It wasn't the most helpful advice, but the three acted upon it instantaneously.

Tifa acted as the distraction, dancing in between its attacks and giving quick rabbit punches to passing limbs as Cloud and Cid approached it from the side. Plunging his spear as deep as he could, it was startling to see it only make a nick as it bounced off the leathery skin. Cloud wasn't any luckier, the side of the beast undamaged from his swing. They were managing to enrage the monster however, and it twirled in an attempt to bite Cloud.

Dodging the teeth didn't mean he dodged the magic attack following it. Magic coursing through his body, Cloud roared in pain as it cascaded past his skin, burning at each of his cells. Stumbling back, he only managed to get a swig of a potion as Tifa continued to distract it.

"Aim for its mouth and eyes, they're the least protected." The blond man suggested. Cid vaulted on top of the monster, stabbing repeated at the base of its skull in an angry attempt to kill it.

Tifa herself wasn't so inclined to put her hand inside the monster's jaws while it was trying to dislodge Cid. Cloud himself had no trouble with that, sticking his sword as deep as it could go into its throat. Screaming in pain, the Rapps reeled back, releasing another magical blast at Cloud before keeling down in pain. With this opportunity, Cid stuck his spear deep through its eye and into the brain, killing it instantly.

"That didn't work so well, did it?" Cid snarled at Don Corneo, who was slowly edging back. Tifa was busy rifling through a medical pack for a healing potion for Cloud.

"Stop! If you come any closer, I'll drop those two!" Don Corneo warned frightened, waving a remote control in emphasis. "I'll unlock their manacles and they'll fall!"

Angry, Cid stayed still, but the Turks were encumbered by the moral guilt. Appearing suddenly Rude swatted the remote of his hands, startling him and sending him blubbering in fright.

"I do believe that my associate mentioned that you don't mess with the Turks. Now, what are you doing?" Reno asked rhetorically, stepping closer and forcing Don Corneo closer to the edge.

"Aha… running?" In a last ditch effort of escape he scrambled for the path available. A kick from Reno however sent him tumbling off the mountain, his scream silenced after a second.

"That's nice and all, but can you now get me down?" Yuffie cried out, swinging her body to gain attention.

-

Keeping to her word this time, she filled up all the Materia slots in the group's armour and weapons, giving them the remaining ones. As an apology she also gave an additional one. Inside Yuffie's house the blond man finished his search for better clothes.

Tifa winced as she looked at the metallic shells moulded to the man's figure lying on the floor. "Damn, that must have hurt. Who are you, anyway?"

"Ah, that feels better." Link smiled lightly, swinging his arms in appreciation of the full mobility. "My name's Link."

Link didn't bother to answer the questions following, instead examining his new garb. Unfortunately tunics were a fashion that was out of date, so the best he could do to get as close to his previous clothing was to wear a forest-shaded ninja outfit. It was surprising how many hidden pockets there were all over the place as well. None were suitable for holding his ocarina, so for that he took a belt (ignoring the smiling/frowning face pattern printed on it), and with a bit of modifying managed to create a pouch for it.

"Your language hasn't changed much over the years," Link commented. "I don't think many words have changed in meaning since the last time I was around."

Cid spared Yuffie a few choice curses as he rearranged his Materia. "When's the last time you were around then? And where were you from before?" He inquired, carefully dislodging the Materia from his spear and passing it to Tifa.

Link watched with rapt attention. "It's amazing how the lifestream warps around those crystals. What are they? Anyway, I think I first arrived at the year 1232 of your calendar, and visited it again a year after. I came from…" Link paused, his eyes dimming as his mind drifted in search of that piece of information. "I came from… outside this planet."

That was an impressive sounding place of birth. "Whoa, really?" Cid asked excitedly. If this Link was an alien, then maybe his dream of entering space would be so far off! "How'd you learn to speak our language that well?"

Link wobbled slightly, and it was a quick Yuffie that prevented him from falling down. "Damn, you are light," she noted juggling his frail body in her arms, "I think you're going to need a bit of stuffing up before you do anything else."

Coughing from all the bouncing, the appreciation in Link's thanks was muted considerably by the groans of pain.

It was a long time since he even heard the word of food, and the idea of eating sounded like a very good idea.

-

Cid, Tifa, Link and Yuffie were sitting around a round wooden table as Cloud ran back with the petrol for the Little Bronco and the Materia for everyone else. Without it, Aeris in particular was without defence. Sure, a solid blow to the temple would daze any monster, be it big or small, but Aeris was a magic user, and Cloud's faith in her said that she would have lost her arm by the time she managed to learn how to cave in a head.

Yuffie and Link were fixed in some sort of competition on who could pig on more than the other. Cid had shifted his chair aside for some space for him to smoke, and Tifa was counting how many dishes were stacked on for each person's pile. It was soaring rapidly above five now, and she wasn't sure whether they'll stop before or after they hit ten. The cooks, servants to Godo, were working at a pace they were unused to, and it wasn't odd anymore that one or two would break into tears from the strain.

Tifa imagined that it must have been hard for Link to learn the main tongue of their planet. She once tried to learn one of the Southern dialects, and after two months and no success gave up on it. That he learnt it in the year 1232 and remembered it after around seven hundred years was impressive.

Wait a minute, seven hundred years?

"Link, how old was you when you arrived on this planet?" She asked hurriedly, not bothering to count the rising number of plates.

"_Deuxin__ arew poir vront… _I don't know, about four hundred years, why?" Link asked confusedly after ripping a mouthful of meat. The top of his outfit was once green, but now was brown from all the sauce staining it.

That caused everyone to freeze. Four hundred years old, looking not even twenty five and arrived way, way back…

"Holy $£! You're a one thousand one hundred years old?" Cid swore, his cigarette dropped onto the floor.

"Whoa, you don't really look the part." Yuffie exclaimed, prodding Link's skin in amazement.

Link blinked at that. "_Querst__ Farore_… I was hoping to be around five hundred. Seven hundred years in that mountain…"

While silence overcame the group as they sieved through varying emotions, Cloud took that time to appear with everyone else.

"Damn it Yuffie! What was the point of you running off anyway! The next time you do that – hey, who's the guy?" Barret asked, waving his gun arm in the direction of Link.

"He's Link, and apparently over a thousand years old." Tifa mentioned.

Aeris smiled brightly at that. "Hello, Mr. Link! You certainly age well. My name is Aeris Gainsborough. Did you know any Cetra?" It was around five hundred years ago did their numbers start to decline, humans arising as the dominant race.

Link didn't answer that question, instead choosing to look intensely at Aeris. Eyebrows furrowed in concentration, it would have been flattering if it was for a second or so, but as it progressed past a minute it was getting embarrassing and slightly disturbing.

Raising his eyebrow in amusement, Red XIII chose to speak out. "Sorry if I'm interrupting something, Mr. Link, but is there a surname to go with your name?"

He blinked out of his concentration, looking somewhat confusedly at Red. "Talking tigers, not the most surprising thing I've seen I guess." Red looked slightly affronted at that. "I'm only known as Link, no other attachments to my name, unless you count _Fera__ stas Xera, Drathe Nimair, Nirstic stas Krond, Nirstar stas Cryslir_."

The group stared perplexed. "Forgive my ignorance, but what is that foreign language mean?" Red asked.

"It's a language I used to speak long ago called Hylian, and… that's it! I'm from Hyrule!" Smiling at the enlightenment, he continued a bit more cheerfully, "they mean in your language – the translation's a bit crude, admittedly – Harbinger of Death, Heaven's Punisher, Master of Fire, Wielder of Ice." It was weird, putting it bluntly, to see him speak such negative titles so happily.

"Do you know some magic spells? Nowadays there are very few people that can cast magic without Materia."

Link sighed, a melancholy look overtaking his previous demeanour. "Not right now, no magic. I've forgotten most of it as well, even though it was really four or five spells. No, unless it's night, this table has more magic infused in the wood that I have in my body."

Cait Sith shuddered at that, rolling on top of the large stuffed moogle. "Night, creepy time. Your magic wasn't evil magic, was it?"

Link stared blankly. "What?"

"Destructive, dangerous, something people like to use against the good of mankind."

Link shrugged. "New word to my vocabulary. Yes, it was destructive, dangerous, but I didn't use it against the good of mankind – at least, not intentionally. Two spells in particularly fit those categories."

"Ah, and what are those?"

"I called it _Kare__ Krond, Kori Crystlir._ White Fire, Black Ice."

-

A/N: Chapter 1 done, not perfectly but right now I can't really care about it. It's main purpose this chapter is to link up both separate parties together. Forgive me if some parts sound a bit, well, slow or awkward.

To the person that reviewed: I believe the poem is called 'The Path Not Taken' (I would know, I think, for I had to do an analysis on it to enter this school), and the one by Icy Mike Molson is a D2 fanfic. Quite good, regardless whether you know the game or not.


	3. CHapter 2

A/N: Ah… the beauty of Squaresoft creations. I doubt that there's a person who hates their works – All Final Fantasy versions, Chrono series, Seiken Densetsu series, etc. I like FF7…

Chapter 2

It was Navi who learnt first how to replace oxygen with distilled mana for respiration. Her techniques was actually plucking the oxygen from carbon dioxide and learn how to be anaerobic. It was easier for her, being smaller and needing less oxygen, to learn first.

_Armed with the new knowledge Saria, Link, Navi and Shael were capable of leaving the space shuttle. Link discovered a mana conserving way to armour skin so the vacuum of space wouldn't rip them open. Saria found a way to draw small traces of light and thermal energy around to replenish reserves. _

_Stuck in the abyss of space, they all tried to find the way back. If they managed to find the planet they left from, they stood the chance of finding the portal back to Hyrule. The way home depended on them finding the planet._

_That was a task they couldn't accomplish. With no ups and downs, left and right looking all the same, Link couldn't tell the direction they came from. Gravity of the sun affecting all in orbit, the planet cycled away from them. It was one of the worst mazes Link ever dealt with._

_A maze without walls.___

_With no guidance, it was their Faith in the Goddesses that chose the bearing taken. Even then their beliefs were being challenged. Forced to float in a single direction, it was a sheer miracle that they managed to spot another planet gliding by._

_Magic severely drained, landing on the planet itself was a task near impossible. A fall from a building would have injured Link, as skilled as he was in martial prowess. A fall from a mountain would have killed anyone, be it one of the docile Deku Shrubs or the mighty stone Gorons. A fall from the sky…_

_Link's Triforce glimmered as he crashed into the ground, conviction in the power of Farore strengthened by his survival. Mana emptied, shield glowing hot red from the descent, he managed to protect everyone in a casing of Nayru's Love. _

_Arising from red dirt, it was not the most hospitable natives to land by. Two factions, distinguished by the colour of their helmets, lay on either side of Link. Weakened from lack of food and the sudden reintroduction to gravity, he prayed that they wouldn't decide to fight then. He was unused to technological weaponry, but by the reddish glow of the nozzles he understood the display of superiority. His feet shuffled in the pale grass as he flicked his eyes to the bare trees in the distance, measuring whether such frail cover could be reached in time._

_Unfortunately the army geared in green started to release fire. Caught right in the middle, Link only summoned enough mana to create a barrier in between the pulses of high energy. His salvation didn't come in the shape of the black army though._

_It came in the form of a green haired companion of his._

_Navi__ and Shael chanting near Saria, she called for the spirits of the planet for aid. In the new environment, her call was weak, a whisper to the ears of listening spectres, but it was heard. It was answered._

_The earth fissured beneath the green army, cracks rupturing and ground separating under their unsuspecting feet. The plea of protection amplified by both fairies, rotting vines slithered from the earth, wrapping like a python around the front lines, screams silenced as the withered cords constricted throats. _

_The demonstration of supernatural talent was enough to frighten the green army off. Counting their losses to the black trenches beneath, men scrambled for retreat before their numbers were knocked down to nothing. The black army, disturbed and worried, shifted into a defensive formation in anticipation._

_/We mean no harm,/ Saria mentally called out tiredly, /we only wish for shelter and food./ A murmur swept through the black army as authority was called upon and requests delivered. Ten minutes of nervous waiting later, the wish was granted._

_The trek to the garrisons of the black army was too arduous for Saria's strained body, energy sapped from calling for the planet's defence. Link, burdened as it was by his own weariness, took the burden of her weight as well, accompanied by Navi and Shael's tired forms. He watched the depressing scenery, leaves scorched off trees from battles, ground discoloured black from errant shots, ditches hurriedly made as a meagre defence against streaming fire. Grass grew weak from lack of nutrients, trees stopped living as the smog of war blotched out the sun. The entrance to the garrison was like a disfigured face of steel and stone, bent bars acting as crooked teeth to the entrance, battered steel like skin gaunt against bones._

_"Tren snel le viost berou plia."__ /This isn't a pretty looking place./ Link whispered to Saria, the cold glances of the men inside unnerving him._

_Saria groaned from her position on Link's back, shuffling uncomfortably as the edge of his shield chafed into her. "Ser jenon Link, meriac tos quai." /Forget it Link, think about the food./_

_The food itself wasn't anything worth thinking about though. Porridge, bread and jam, shreds of chicken and beef mixed with minced vegetables, dried fruits and the most simplest or cartable food given. Weeks without food and running on emptied mana didn't make a man picky however, and an hour of eating later they were joined by the garrison commander._

_The technique of changing small bits of energy into mana was effective on food as well, digestive systems working in overdrive as energy was leached from stomach walls as well as intestines. Filling her reserves to the max, Saria leaned back contentedly, choosing to pay attention to the visiting commander._

_As he spoke Saria delved into his mind, taking the words he meant. /I welcome you, strangers, and am impressed of the talents you hold./ He didn't spare a glance at the fairies. Saria's eyebrow twitched at that. It was understandable, him inquiring into the matters of power, since he was in a middle of a war. But to ask straight away from guests? How discourteous. _

_She passed his comment to Link, who just nodded and still ate. Muttering a few soft words to him only resulted in him waving dismissively back. /My companion is willing to put his skills to your cause, providing you explain your predicament./_

_The man nodded, stroking his bristly moustache. /He sets an understandable term. Very well, I shall explain, if in brief – time is a privilege I must spare. We have been with war against that other country for three years already, technology and numbers equalled and in a deadlock. Manoeuvring around the enemy only means that they manoeuvre around us. We have been fighting over the matter of politics: we want a government guided by a strong group to lead us, yet they rebel, wishing for miniature parties representing the people. We believe in strength, and their idea is weak, and the ultimatum is that by their leadership this country would collapse to outside countries, preying on weakness. This matter has to be wrapped up quickly before we lose more lives./_

_It was quite a mouthful, and difficult for Saria to process. Her version to Link was simplified, being that they were in a stalemate and that he believed if the opposing army won the country would fall to other countries. _

_Navi__ piped in at that moment. __"Se noa rexar vo munic stes weist. Se'r fria tost quel." /I don't want to be stuck in this planet. Let's get some resources to get out./ Link finished scooping the last of the meal into his mouth, wiping away the small bit of porridge on the edge of his mouth. His discussion with Saria supported Navi's point, Shael adding in now and then for refinements._

_A minute later she turned back to the commander. Swallowing a few dried plums for energy, she communicated, /My friend says that if you can give us lodging for a week and food for a month plus some certain materials explained later, he can engage against your enemy tomorrow./_

_The man scratched his head at that, confused. /Just him alone?/_

_/Him and his fairy. I'll remain back to work on some compositions. /_

_The commander didn't understand it well, but the conditions were in his means. Giving them an escort to a room, he retired to his own chambers to plan with this new addition._

_Saria__ randomly checked the minds of the passing soldiers, gaining thoughts like 'witch', 'illusionists' and 'aliens'. It wasn't comforting to be thought of so lowly and strangely, but with the prospect of leaving held strongly in her mind she managed to ignore it._

_The sun rose the next day to a most spectacular sight. An army assembled in the same field as before, their challenger a sole man clad in green. Drawing his sword, Link surveyed the numbers against him. As a sliver of light cut through a gap in the smog, a silent agreement was made: the battle started._

_Before ploughing straight in his Triforce shimmered again.__ A pain indescribable in magnitude shuddered through his sword arm, causing him to gasp in shock. Pulling the glove off, he saw the reason._

_Farore__ had abandoned him._

_The Triforce was gone._

_Snarling at the charging men, he waived the matter off. His magic was still retained, learnt before Farore gave him her blessing. He had defeated monsters before; he would defeat men now._

_As laser shots bounced against his magical shield, men caved under his sword and machines reduced to slag under Din's Fire, he received his first title there: Fera stas Xera, Harbinger of Death._

-

The day ended with Link sitting on the roof whilst everyone slept in the house. Unwilling to talk about his experiences with the two spells of his own; they allowed him his peace, leaving him to his own entertainments.

It was amazing, watching the stars from such a distance. As they twinkled in the sky he reflected no how close he was to them in his travels. They weren't spirits smiling down at mortals, nor were they celestial beings to be prayed upon. Great giant gases of fire, a source of energy beyond compare. From his distance, they all sparkled like a blanket of glitter, deceptive compared to the raging flames they really were.

Reclining to his back, he pulled out his ocarina, playing a tune from his past on it. None of them held power anymore, the magic lost to time or distance, he knew nothing about. Now all they were are nice sounding melodies, a hollow enchantment.

They had a good tune though, and as the notes for Serenade of Water wafted through the night, it wasn't too hard to see why he played it. Relaxed, he didn't hear the arrival of Aeris.

The wonders of the ocarina are amazing, but in expressing the voice holds no competitor. Playing a long tune to start off with, he eventually broke off into words, a song whispered more than sung, but still holding the same meaning behind it.

_"Through the vast, golden sky_

_Flies a single firefly_

_Her path twists and bends_

_As she weaves Eternity's end"_

_"She helped fight the greater cause_

_Before she entered Heaven's doors_

_And still past her tearful end_

_She remains my closest friend."_

_"Let us dance for the firefly_

_Let us raise her thoughts to the sky_

_The world's not as it seems _

_As we sing her longing dreams."___

_"See my tears, hear my cries_

_For I miss little firefly_

_She now rests in a cave_

_As I pray at firefly's grave."___

_"Through the vast, golden sky_

_Flies a single firefly_

_I will speak not a lie_

_At the grave of the firefly."___

His gaze remained fix on the sky, a tear leaking from his eyes. Aeris silently sat down right next to him.

"Wow," she said quietly, "sounds like you really miss her. Who was she?"

Link's eyes glazed from memory, his mind refreshing his past before he answered. "She was a fairy called Navi, and I knew her for many years of my life." Link laughed strangely at that. "You could say that if I lived as long as normal people, she would have been present for my entire life. "

Aeris nodded lightly, choosing to adopt Link's position of lying down as well. "How did you get that old?"

"Who knows? All I know is that I stopped aging when… a piece was taken from me. I guess immortality was just a gift from the gods for my services."

Aeris sighed, thinking back to her own history. "It would have been nice if the Cetra were immortal," she mentioned sadly, "then I won't be the only one left. At least if they weren't wiped out. Do you know what killed them?"

Link nodded. "A disease mutated and improved through time and environments. It lived for three hundred years before its symptoms were known. I suffered it, as did my fairy Navi, a friend Saria and her fairy Shael. Both fairies died from it."

Aeris couldn't ask any questions after that, Link deciding to fall asleep in that uncomfortable time. She really doubted he was actually asleep, but if it was privacy that he wanted, she had no reason to deny it from him.

-

A long queue for the bathroom was the main disturbance in the morning. Cait Sith, really an animated plush toy was rolling around in the morning outside in mockery of everyone waiting inside.

"What's taking so long?" Tifa asked, irritated. She had been waiting already for half an hour, and surely no one would need longer than that in the bathroom.

Cloud shrugged. "Just now Yuffie was inside explaining to Link about toothpaste. Maybe she's still explaining?"

"Hey, are you saying I'm not a good speaker?" Yuffie called out behind him. Her own toiletries held in one hand, she scowled at Cloud. "He understood just fine, thank you very much. I just left him to do whatever he needed to do twenty minutes ago."

Barret yawned. He hated mornings, although mornings in Wutai were a lot nicer than mornings in Midgard, where smog blotted out most of the sunlight. "Maybe he has indigestion? I heard that you and him pigged out last night." He speculated, scratching his head. A pity about only having one arm was that there was only one arm to do things with.

At that moment the door opened, Link came out quite cheerfully. There was no scent usually accompanying the use of the toilet, and he couldn't have brushed his teeth for twenty minutes straight.

"What the darn were you doing in there?" Cid snarled, his unshaven face looking slightly more intimidating than usual. Waving his toothbrush like a sword he pointed at Link, who blinked blankly at him.

"Checking my magic." Link answered briefly, raising a hand and creating a small spark in between two fingers. "Unfortunately, no change in amount; still as empty as ever." With a disappointed sigh he walked off, mumbling in a foreign language.

As everyone finished their morning routine of freshening up and consuming breakfast, Yuffie ran off along with Cloud and Aeris for some errand. Link and the rest stayed back in the house, everyone discussing what they would do. Indifferent to what they were saying, he remained in the corner, watching the sky outside the window.

"Sephiroth's still being a prick, and we can't do anything about it." Cid complained as they discussed their present enemy. A monster in mind and not even human in body, he was the cruellest of the cruel, able to burn down a town without remorse and slay a monster of fear. Link's ears twitched slightly at that name, but it was not recognised. "To the Temple of the Ancients, he says. Meet you there, he says. Doesn't damned tell us where the friggin' Temple is!"

Ah yes, the Ancients. Judging by his own age, Link assumed he might be an Ancient as well. Maybe there is a race of immortals on this planet? That would be strange, for only the Cetra and a few human civilisations existed. Maybe the Cetra were now immortal… No, Aeris said that they weren't, that they all died out.

"You were expecting him to tell?" Tifa asked. "We're pretty much his enemies, and I won't try to make things easier for my own enemies. Maybe he's trying to frustrate us, make us give up."

"Bloody 'ell is he gonna make me give up. He can just shove his £$ sword up his !&# and leave it there for all I care. Him an' his stinkin' ideas – ha !" Perturbed by all the swearing, Link decided to leave the house for a while until Cid calmed down. The talking stuffed toy waved to him before he departed.

It was amazing how fast news could spread in a small community. With the information that he was a man from the holy mountain Da-Chou, everyone believed he was one of the great ancestors or among their pantheon of deities. The bowing was a bit embarrassing, but truth be told he liked the sensation. At least he had a free roam around the town.

Glancing up showed the sign of 'Honest Wong's Honestly Good Blades'. Link smiled slightly before entering. The shopkeeper, busy polishing a pristine nodachi muttered about disruptions before looking up. Seeing Link, he smiled broadly before putting the gigantic sword down. "Ah, welcome oh healthy one! It's good to see you in good shape! Would you like to buy one of my quality weapons? For you, I'll give a special discount! For you, I'll even customise the sword! Or do you want a spear?" The man said cheerfully as he rubbed his palms together. His assistant bowed along with each offer.

Link smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I don't have money right now. If you don't mind though, I'd like to see your weapons." With a flash the assistant flurried from the storage to the counter back and forth, weapon after weapon appear on the ground, from darts to crossbows and knives to halberds. Panting in exhaustion, the assistant bowed once more before moving to his place next to 'Honest Wong'.

"Our finest selection," the shopkeeper announced as he gestured to the swords, "and maybe one of them will fit for you. No worries about money, we accept credit! Take a look, pick one, and pay later!" For all his respect for Link, he dragged the startled man over to take a closer look at the swords.

Uncertain, Link hesitantly examined them. His past experience with the Master Sword, the Great Fairy Sword and perhaps even the Biggoron sword made all these swords pale in worth, but they were decent – he just wondered why there were slot-like holes in all of them, some of them with intricate carvings linking them together. Fishing out the best, he examined its length and weight. Slightly longer than the swords he was used to and a bit thinner, its single edge was extremely sharp and its make near perfect.

"Ah, a good choice!" The shopkeeper exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "I would expect nothing less from such a worthy ancestor! It is Wutai's fabled kikuichimonji, the sword of honoured heroes past, mended and improved! Unfortunately it has no Materia slots," he added sorrowfully, "but its durability and sharpness knows no equal."

Link nodded. "It's a pretty good sword, I have to admit. What do you mean by Materia slots?"

The shopkeeper stared at that question, and the assistant answered. "Forgive our ignorance, we forgot that Materia didn't exist in your day and age, worsened by our island's bleak history with magic. My explanation is a bit crude," he pointed out regretfully, "but it's a gem made from Mako that holds the powers of the Ancients. Incredible powers, since it grants the user magic. A slot allows the Materia to be held firmly into either weapon or armour without falling out, and links allow two Materia to work together." He bowed again before taking a step back.

Link nodded in thanks. He knew now at least why everyone was so angry when that girl stole all of the Materia. "Thanks for the explanation. This is a really good sword, I'm very impressed with it."

The shopkeeper smiled broadly at that. "Wonderful! Please, take it; hold no remorse for lack of wealth! Just spread the word of our shop across the Earth, and the praise for 'Honest Wong's Honestly Good Blades' will be heard in all four corners! Or pay ten thousand silver pieces whenever you have the money." Seeing Link's dubious look at that number, he hurried him out of the shop, bowing graciously and closing the door before Link could return the blade. A second later the door opened and the scabbard was thrown out, before shutting again.

Shrugging, Link walked along until he came to the entrance of a large pagoda. A large man stood guarding the entrance to the second floor.

Booming out loud, the man yelled, "I, Gorki, will not allow any to pass without a fight! Only those with Wutai blood can – forgive me, honoured one! Forgive my disrespect! Please, pass along, your companions are duelling Chekhov above. Allow me to guide the way."

It was amazing how such an intimidating figure could be reduced down to a blubbering servant. Link guessed that his authority of a sort was enhanced by that he had their hero's sword slung on his shoulder.

The battle going on was a peculiar one, if Link could say so himself. Unlike the other battle against _Rapps_, only the thief girl (he really needed to start remembering names) was fighting with the two others watching, and it wasn't much of a fight. Her opponent Chekhov was pretty much sitting down and meditating, an aura of some strange monster around him and Link could see his ethereal magical attacks literally bounce off the girl, a ring glowing with each attack.

"Ho kay…" Link muttered before walking next to Aeris. "So, what's going on?" he whispered, looking as an enlarged shuriken sheared through the aura, the meditating man sweating to hold it up. Apparently it also acted like a protective shield, but in the shape of a monster?

"Yuffie is undergoing a trial," she whispered back, glancing briefly at the sword, "something about proving her worth to her tribe. Very enlightening."

With a cry she released a bolt of lightning, the aura failing and the monster image disappearing. Sweating, he admitted she admitted defeat, shifting her legs into standing position. "You have improved considerably," Chekhov admitted, wiping the sweat from her brow, "far more than I had ever expected. But I still believe you will never defeat all five levels."

"Let's see about that," Yuffie replied cockily, catching the water bottle Aeris tossed at her, "and how much money do you want to bet on it?" Taking a large draught, she gratefully handed it back. "Staniv time; and I got a trick up my sleeve." She cackled, holding up a yellow coloured Materia.

Cloud frowned at that. "Isn't that _my_ trick?" He asked – he spent time training and working with that, and here Yuffie was taking its credit.

She shrugged at him. "Your trick, my trick, it's still up my sleeve."

Link wondered why there were variations to the colour of all the Materia, some red, blue, green and yellow. Perhaps they did different types of magic, or were of different categories. Link frowned slightly at that: even though he categorised magic itself into defensive, offensive and support, leaving it in a large messy cluster helped keep the mystique around it. Also, if it is hard for you to figure out what it is, it should also be hard for your opponent to figure it out as well.

Staniv stood imperiously at the fourth level as they finished ascending the staircase. Unlike all the others he bulged with muscle so prominently that it he was more a tower of solid flesh than human. Silently he watched them approach him, slowly shifting to a defensive posture to the way up.

"Yuffie, it's good to see you and your successes. Ancient one, I'm pleased that you willing to spend so worthy your time on our foolish endeavour." Staniv said, nodding to each person in turn. Yuffie carefully slotted the yellow Materia she was brandishing around last time into her armour, tapping it to make sure it was properly locked into place.

"You're going down, bub," she laughed haughtily, "no matter how much muscle you have on your side."

Enraged, the battle was joined, a monstrous aura glowing into existence around Staniv as he charged at Yuffie.

Link's eyes widened as she called up the spell Barrier as a defence. For some strange reason, he could feel a familiar tingle, a remnant of his past, enveloping Yuffie protectively. A whisper of the Goddesses, felt long after they abandoned him…

Nayru's Love – she was using Nayru's Love!

He smiled at the deduction, remembering the first time he landed on the planet. Watching the blows ripple against the shield, Link thought back to the past when he taught the Cetra that trick. The spell wasn't the perfect version of the Goddess' spell, allowing damage to seep through, but that was due to time and his failing in the spell itself.

The fight, all in all, was surprisingly short and slightly disappointing. Staniv, a brawler more than a martial artist, crashed against the shielding, his meaty punches hammering away at the defence. Yuffie really danced away before he could strike any of the weak spots, pulling some distance.

"Die, fool, die." She muttered before calling the power of the Enemy Skill Materia. "Level 5 Death!" she called out, ethereal tentacles twisting along the ground towards Staniv, constricting his throat once they reached him. Choking he fell to the ground, and with a shuriken flying at his face the aura broke against the attack.

"You have grown more devious in your ways," Staniv admitted, "It was my undoing to leave my training at that. Congratulations, Yuffie, proceed to the next floor and challenge the master himself." Bowing aside he granted them passage, bowing deeply as Link passed.

"Where'd you get that sword?" Cloud asked curiously as they walked up the final staircase. To add to the dramatic flair, the final floor wasn't much a floor above than two floors worth of steps until hitting the roof. "It has quite the decorative scabbard."

Link nodded. "The weapon smith gave it to me. It looks very impressive, doesn't it?" he agreed, appreciating its outlook.

Cloud grumbled slightly at that. "Even with Yuffie back with us, the guy's too stingy to even sell us any weapons. 'Soldier of the East' and all that; most likely is referring to the war years ago." It didn't really matter anyway, for he was sure there were better weapons out there. "You know how to use that weapon?"

"I would've been grinded into paste if I didn't know," Link laughed, "although to be sure I'm more used to using a shield along with a sword. I know a few varieties, so maybe this sword can fit my style."

Anything Cloud was going to say in reply was cut off by Yuffie's surprised cry. "DAD?" she yelled, looking at Godo, "what are you doing here?"

Godo stayed silent for a moment, surveying everyone in turn as they entered the room. Yuffie, Cloud, Aeris, Link, Gorki, Shake, Chekhov and Staniv, the last four walking as if in a procession to the corners, acting as judge for the battle to come. He raised his eyes to the ceiling as though he could see the heavens beyond, giving a quiet prayer.

"You were right about one thing," Godo answered finally, "that I am to blame for Wutai's downfall." He raised his hand against the protests of the four other trial masters. "We lost, brought down to a rump state, but instead of training for our re-emergence as a powerful nation I grew lazy. From now on, my error will be corrected, and now, daughter of mine, I have proven my weakness, so now prove your strength."

The battle that ensued was long and spectacular, neither Kisaragi willing to back down to the challenge. Sword clashed against shuriken, lightning against barriers and magic against magic. For all the damage Yuffie was doing, Godo would heal and fight on, and it was almost like he had an unlimited pool of mana to drink from.

Almost, but not quite. As minutes passed into hours, the pool ran dry. As the shuriken carved a gouge in the aura, the aura wavered before collapsing, Godo stumbling to his knees in exhaustion.

Yuffie had won.

It was a pity the drama of an inferior becoming superior was lost slightly as she stumbled onto the floor, slipping on her sweat and getting knocked out cold. Aeris gave an uncertain applaud, looking at the tired girl confusedly.

"I know you're probably not in top shape," Cloud asked when they all moved to the fourth floor to give Yuffie a bit of privacy with her father, "but I want to know how good you are with swords. How'd you say to that, us having a small fight of our own?"

Link shrugged. He might lose, but at least lose to a person he might consider a friend (or at least someone who won't kill him while he's down), and better know his own limitations now than in the thick of a life-and-death struggle. Drawing his own sword, he gave it a few testing flicks before moving into a defensive posture, using two hands to hold the sword

Cloud smiled as Link accepted his challenge. "To be fair, I won't use any magic, providing you stick to physical attacks as well." Drawing his own sword, Link could see that it was a bit more intimidating knowing that large hunk of steel would be used against you.

Shrinking down to give more spring to each step and reduce the target area, Link analysed Cloud's posture. With his kikuichimonji held with point down and sharp edge up, he believed that Cloud would see a possible weak point on his right side, where his sword wouldn't be able guard as quickly, and if with a sword that heavy, the most likely attack would be a downward swing…

True to his predictions, Cloud played out exactly as he had planned. Shifting slightly he accommodated for the incoming blade, using the flat side of his blade to make Cloud's sword slide harmlessly to the ground. With his sword off target and body unprotected, Link was taking the opportunity to strike forward, point streaking straight to Cloud's abdomen.

Contact wasn't exactly a pushover, however, and with dexterity you wouldn't expect with such a large sword managed to swing it as a blocking shield, deflecting Link's point. Cloud frowned slightly at Link, whose tactic was to play it defensively, hopping back and keeping a good distance between both of them. Up close Cloud was sure he'd have the upper hand, strength of arm being able to crush the green-garbed defence. However, from a distance, Link's sword could snake past his sword and gain a strike.

Eyes narrowing he watched Link change his posture, shifting from a two handed defensive grip to a one handed 'trap' attack, where the sword was near his waist. He could see that what Link was doing was try to lure him to a specific distance where he could attack, blade like a whip, and things weren't improved by his continuous shifting of his body weight, making distance judging a bit trickier.

Link smiled slightly as he noticed Cloud's hesitation. Obviously his black armoured opponent knew one to one tactics, but his education was not so thorough as he only used one type of guard. Eyes flicking to Aeris quickly he saw her imperceptibly analyse and record the fight, possibly to learn and improve upon. Smart girl.

Feeling that Cloud wouldn't attack, Link took another glance at his posture before lashing out. Covering the distance with quick steps the noise of both swords crashing startled Cloud, him recoiling slightly. That little action was all Link needed. With his elbows closer to his body, Cloud's flexibility to swing his sword around was a lot smaller, and twirling like a hurricane Link twisted until he was behind Cloud and with a final spin smashed the blunt side of his sword into Cloud's waist.

"Nice," Cloud complimented, genuinely surprised at Link's agility, "I guess it's time to crank up the heat a little bit."

Filled with adrenaline Link smirked back. "I guess it is." One trick he learnt was how to be ambidextrous with a weapon, and with the element of surprise he might be able to get another hit.

Dimly he wondered how many hits there would have to be before someone admitted defeat. Shrugging it off, he scrutinised Cloud's oncoming charge.

Thinking out a battle, or even a fight is always a good thing, providing you have time to think. It almost is foolproof, providing you guessed and double-guessed the opponent right. It will give new ideas and avenues of thought, providing you consider each option available. As good as thinking is, it doesn't cut time-wise against instinct. And with four hundred years of fighting honing his instinct, Link's instinct acted in a peculiar way.

Instead of jumping aside or dodging as any sane man, Link tried another tactic: running straight at Cloud. Timing it right, he'll reach Cloud just at the moment his arms try to swing the sword down. Catch there is that he'll need to be able to bring his arms down, and an edged blade in the way would hamper that considerably.

Cloud had a few tricks up his sleeve. Proving his mastery over his body, he countered his own inertia, propelling himself backwards slightly and delivering a strong kick to Link's wrist. The kikuichimonji flew out, finishing two graceful arcs before digging into the wood right next to Aeris.

"Time to dish out my full arsenal then." Link commented cheerfully. It's been a long time since he had a fight that didn't have his life or anyone else's on the line, and he was enjoying it to its full capacity. Aeris struggled a bit to pull out the sword before handing it back to Link.

As Link and Cloud made eye contact Link dealt out the most speed he could muster, he body blurring around Cloud as like a comet he flashed in from all sides. Acrobatically he used the sword like a pivot to launch himself into the air, spinning to bring the blade in between him and Cloud. Sweating, Cloud countered by raising his own sword, using his greater strength to shove Link away.

What Cloud found so hard was the speed Link changed from one position to another, from one style to another and from one hand to the other. Striking at the front with lunging attacks with both hands to twisting to become another hurricane of blades behind, it was getting harder to predict Link as his speed started to increase with each bounce.

He could tell that Link wasn't using any magic, but it felt like he was using an over pumped haste spell, him bolting from one side to the other. There was a pattern to it, and just before Link landed on the ground behind him Cloud spun around, tripping Link.

Nearly falling on his face wasn't much of a deterrent to Link, who just used a hand to flip a distance away. He didn't take long to reset his position before striking back at Cloud, who met his charge with a charge of his own.

There was an attack Link learnt when he was eight and lived… somewhere… which involved nearly breaking the rules of physics. Applying it now, he spun like a furious cyclone, catching Cloud by surprise as seemingly shaving away his sword, peels of metal falling like feathers onto the floor. His momentum eventually ran out, his attack based on piercing armour and light swords, not penetrating something as thick and strong as Cloud's weapon. Tired from his attack he carefully jumped back, wary of what Cloud might do.

There was little Cloud could of course do with a wedge cutting through half his sword. Surprisingly Link's own sword was unscathed from all the rapid strikes, but with him so tired he couldn't do much himself either. "Draw?" Cloud offered, looking disconsolately at the bits of metal on the floor.

"Draw."

-

When everyone returned to Yuffie's personal house, Cait Sith was doing some sort of raffle, rolling a bunch of papers in a small tube.

"I believe we should go… south east." He declared finally, pulling out the small piece of paper and presenting it to the group.

"Are you sure 'bout that?" Barret asked dubiously. "You already got the directions north east, west and south west. You sure that we're going south east?"

The stuffed cat nodded, looking as serious as a toy could look. "Very certain. It may fail three times, but never four times. I'm sure that if I rolled for another one hundred I'll get south east all the time."

Tifa noticed Cloud's entry from her position on the rafters, and called out, "It looks like we're going south east then. By the way, what happened to your sword? Did you put it through a massive cheese grater or something?"

Link chuckled lightly at that. "First time someone called me a cheese grater. Cheese face, once I'm sure, but never a grater."

"Sorry, but I find that a bit hard to believe." Cid said, but holding his own spear protectively. "No way in hell can a person saw through a weapon."

Link shrugged. "I think I might have said it before, but I'm of a slightly different race. No human: maybe, not human: yes."

"Speaking of which," Red XIII said, "considering the ease that I, Yuffie and Cait Sith joined the group of Avalanche, we would like to extend that hospitality to you and offer you a position among us. I know we haven't given the full details yet, but I still believe that you will be an asset to us, and ultimately to the world."

Link gave a wry smile at that. "You're a bunch of extreme Greenpeace people, eh? It's nice to help the Planet, but I have to refuse."

Yuffie ran back at that moment holding a parchment and a red Materia. "Why not?" she asked. "My father said that sending the symbol of Wutaian history into the world would improve Wutai – although he's willing to let you stay – but why not?"

Link shrugged. "I spent nearly all my life fighting. If it isn't too hard, I'd like to spend the remainder in peace."

-

The second night came with Link on the roof again, listening in to the people discussing beneath. The light of houses dimmed the vision of the stars above, the sound of crackling fires giving a sense of domestic protection.

"…yes, but Sephiroth might not do that…" Tifa's voice drifted to Link, his ears twitching again at the name.

"_Sephiroth__… Oth tur de Sephir…_Angel's Child, huh?" he muttered to himself, keeping his gaze fixed onto the night beyond, "strange someone would have such a name."

"… who the damn cares what he's gonna do? So long as we stop him…" Barret's voice countered strongly.

Link smiled, and decided he preferred smiling than frowning. A lot less painful, for sure, and frowning usually came with bad emotions, which linked too heavily with bad memories…

"… with cells from Jenova, eh? So, he's overpowered, so…" Aeris debated over, supplying her points with reason and intellect.

Link's eyes closed as he recollected his most recent memories. Starting backwards, fighting Cloud, seeing a _Rapps_ after so many years in a tomb of unconsciousness, a spell going wrong, talking to the Cetra, and the battle with Saria…

His eyes snapped open at that, horror filling his body at what his memories were dictating. "_Jenova_Forgotten. Saria."

-

A/N: Hohohohoho… I can't remember much myself…

Oh yeah, to the guy/girl who reviewed: yes, I made up that language. It isn't just simply tapped gibberish, but conducted thought through words. If you noted, _se_ is pretty much I, myself, me, and a few variations to make such meanings, and with a few others so comprehensive it's going to take a while to explain.

But thanks for actually reading my made up language.


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: yay… getting reviews… if only 2 of everyone who sees, reviews, than that means that my summary propaganda was effective enough to drag 500 viewers… Unlikely though…

Chapter 3:

_As night wore on, Link had a dream. He dreamt about a land past, a land searched for, a land left. _

_Wind blew across the land, raking its vile grasp around the throats of many, claiming death as its master. The people cried out, they called for him. He could not answer. From the strength of their calls, it was reduced to tremors and sobs as men, women and children died around them._

_A great flood was called, deluging the land and sinking all evil. Men gathered onto hills and mountaintops, hoping to survive the continuous rain. It eventually stopped raining, but once there were fields and pastures, there was only the sea._

_Men called for Link still, hoping for his presence, calling for salvation. He could not respond. So they made their own Heroes, training boys in the way of the sword, in hopes one of them will be their saviour. In a small little island, where it became a custom to dress boys in green, one boy did._

_A woman appeared; an aura of sorrow and regret illuminating off her yet not tarnishing her beauty divine. Her hair, a mix of purple and blue that would have looked strange on others but perfect for her cascaded down her back, her gaze locked with Link's. When she spoke, the cries in the background faded away, the scene vanishing, and her sole audience listened._

_"Se relgasque, ri lo weirsin va." /I have failed, in not protecting you./ "Meir quist se'ri nox tolque, vria lets stais." /Our country is endangered, and a guardian is needed./ "Se dirs te Triforce, ai golst se tes alluvia." /I have to take the Triforce, but in return I grant you immortality./_

_With a long glance, she bowed before spiriting away. Soon after the images returned, of a boy dressed in green battling against monsters deformed, of a ship sailing seas never there before, of new hopes being made._

_Link could not comprehend the dream, or even the divine attention given to him. What had happened to Hyrule to set the lands under the ocean? Now more than ever Link's desire to return home held no parallel, the urge propelled by fears and anxieties._

_But he couldn't. Even working with Navi, Saria and Shael, even with all their magic and prayers combined, Link couldn't find a way home. Even though Saria could pinpoint life millions of billions of kilometres away, Link's altered Farore's Wind and the two fairies' amplification of their spells, the search never bore fruit._

_ The days passed as a bloody haze, Link offering his skills as a mercenary to buy the resources needed for Saria to concoct her mana potions. They were rare and did not come cheap, and sometimes exterminating the whole army of the enemy was not enough to pay it off._

_With the absence of his Triforce of Courage, Link felt the pressure of the Goddess' abandonment. He feared that slowly he would forget the three spells they had gifted him with, and without them, armies would stand. Should armies still hold strong, Link would not be able to afford the resources. Without those resources, home would become a memory only._

-

The mornings started with a match between Barret and Cid in who could make the other turn green from all the swearing. It was actually meant to be normal discussion, but as subjects led to nastier subjects, their language followed the conversation and took turns for the worse.

Link was busy brooding over the thought that Jenova might still be alive. Thinking back to his final confrontation, sure, he did not exactly kill her, but he highly doubted that she could have escaped without any help. Considering how she had reduced the Cetra population to half it used to be, he doubted that anyone went to her aid.

He sighed at all the unanswered questions. Hopefully he would be able to find some answers for them. For now, the main concern in his mind was how to bring up his sudden change of mind in joining them, and he only had until afternoon to think it through.

"You seem a bit gloomy today," Tifa commented, brushing lightly a patch next to him before sitting down, "care to share what's on your mind?"

Link stayed quiet for a moment, reflecting on how things could have changed so drastically in seven hundred or so years. A race known for their supremacy in both magic and technology wiped out, men arising from an age of near non-existence to become the dominant race of the planet, to master the ways of fire and electricity and in turn make them bow to their will. He was sure that there were occasions when Saria brought them to a planet that was only beginning to show the start of life, moss being as complicated as organisms went.

Seven hundred years, to be summarised in seven seconds. To share what was on his mind would have needed seven hours to fully reveal. "No, not really. But may I ask you something?"

Tuning out words that are definitely not meant for children, let alone adults, Tifa nodded. "Fire away, I'll try to answer to the best of my capabilities."

"What do you know about Jenova?"

A strange question, especially since she didn't remember anyone telling him about the monster. "I'm not so sure how to answer that question. Can you narrow it down a bit?" She asked, a delicate frown passing her face.

"Just the basic stuff, like if you know how she looked, anything strange about her behaviour, pretty much anything you can think of."

"Alright, but I think that this question is better directed at Cloud – he seems to have more experience with Jenova than I do." Tifa wondered how Link knew Jenova was a 'she'. Maybe he did have some previous knowledge of her. "Well, the first time I met her was in a ship. I can't really say I met all of her because there seemed to be an impression of incompleteness. Complete or no, she was huge, probably around three stories tall. Anything strange about her behaviour? It went as strange as a giant trying to kill you went: squash opponents like a fly and flatten them with all possible means. You'll have to ask Cloud about her for a bit more detail." She added apologetically.

Link nodded, a slight frown from her story turning into a smile of appreciation. "Thanks, for now it should be good enough."

Standing up he walked past Yuffie and Cait Sith arm wrestling, an amusing scene as you had to imagine how hard it is to fight a stuffed plush toy. Nonetheless she was finding it difficult to get a winning hold over the gigantic pink… thing, and it didn't help that the cat on top kept trying to take her attention away from the match.

Jenova and Saria… Even though he knew the truth, Link kept firmly believing that they were two different entities, and his belief was strengthened as he knew that it was different circumstances that made them who they were. Tifa's information told him all that he needed to know: the body was still deformed in its huge state, and she was as aggressive as before.

Taking a walk through the town wasn't relaxing his mind any better than sitting down to mull over it. There were many distractions, one of them being Cloud trying to get the sword smith to fix his sword. Now that the idea of Wutai achieving its previous glory was revitalised in its leaders, 'Honest Wong' seemed to only cater for Wutaians.

Link smiled despite the circumstances: it was good to know that even though he lost all his magic, at least his strength and skill wasn't wiped out from his confinement. It was going along the principle that if you did something enough times, your muscles will know how to do it.

It was partly his fault, and since nearly everyone considered him a Wutaian and a very important one at that, he decided he might as well help. Walking over (and making sure the Kikuichimonji was safely strapped to his back) he smiled to both Cloud and the shopkeeper.

"Hello. How're things?" He asked casually, looking genially. "Any problems?"

"Ah, hello respected ancient!" The shopkeeper's demeanour changed considerable, from his gruff 'no-deal' attitude to his cheerful and mild disposition. "What good can I do for you today? Perhaps your sword requires polishing? No problem, I can deliver the required equipment in just a moment!"

"I'm grateful for your offer," Link said cheerfully, "but I kind of caused that large gape in my friend's sword. Do you think you could help me fix it? The sword you gave to me is surprisingly strong and sharp." He added, hoping to swell the pride of the shopkeeper.

"Ha, ha! Of course it is! Great Wutaian history and craftsmanship has gone to it! Since the honourable ancient has requested it, I will fix your blade for you, although I have to admit the design is… peculiar." Wong commented, straining with effort to pick up the heavy sword. "I suppose you want the same Materia links then?"

Cloud nodded. "Unless you can put some more, keeping it as it was before is good enough."

The shopkeeper bowed deeply to Link. "I thank you for opening this business opportunity to my narrow-mindedness." He said gratefully to Link before addressing Cloud. "Dear customer, please return later this afternoon for a full analysis of your sword and expected payment, but right now I estimate it around seven thousand silver pieces."

Cloud sputtered at the price – what a rip off! However, before he could say anything the shopkeeper was wise enough to drag his weapon in and shut the door, flicking out the sign 'closed – business in progress'.

"Seven thousand silver pieces, he better do a good job at it." Cloud muttered before walking off, feeling slightly awkward without the comfort of the weight on his back.

Now that he had some karma points on his side, Link returned to his introspection and tour around Wutai. Perhaps they wouldn't have to fight again, although by Tifa's description Jenova didn't seem to be all that agreeable. Perhaps strength of arm would be enough to take Jenova down a second time – who was he kidding, he needed a trap aided by the Cetra to defeat her the first time. Perhaps by the ravages of time she forgot her own magic.

Perhaps.

Memories of that fight were bitter: continually the Cetra died around him, her poison attacks seeping deep into the earth and in turn affecting them, her missed attacks gutting the poor few that happened to be around Link. And through all that a concentrated ring kept chanting, holding the trap up long enough for Link to draw her into and weaken her sufficiently for it to keep its hold. First there were six hundred of the Cetra on his side, when she was defeated and the battle won only less than twenty remained, and many were critically injured.

The victory wasn't anything to be proud of either, for they did not manage to fully defeat Jenova. Her poisons struck deep into the lifestream, time being the only cure for the damage done. But before it could fully recover it dragged many Cetra down with it, an incurable disease of frightening magnitude and damage. From a proud race of probably over half a billion it was shredded to half the numbers in just three months, and now history states only one lives.

Sighing, he wouldn't be able to get anywhere right now. After appreciating the scenic view of the great mountain Da-Chao he turned back, hoping to see whether companionship would unveil some more answers.

"Yo whats-yer-name!" Barret called out, gesturing to Link. "Tifa here wants to arm-wrestle with you! Aeris said that yer mighty strong and Tifa's a martial artist!"

Link shrugged. "Alright," he agreed, "but what does that have to do with arm wrestling?"

Barret shrugged. "I dunno, show whose skill is better to give more strength."

As both contestants sat down at the table Yuffie and Cait Sith were sitting around earlier Tifa boasted, "I'd like to inform you that I can pulverise bricks with my bare fists." Maybe it was a ploy to get Link's mind off whatever was worrying him earlier, maybe not, but it was working.

How cute. Link would have mentioned that he could carve through men – armour and all – with his fingers, but that might not have gone down to well. Besides, he didn't believe he had that much power in him anymore. "So, you're a martial artist? Great to know such valuable skills haven't been lost in the haze of time." Link added a little banter as they both started applying pressure.

"Yep, was taught by one of the best masters in the world," Tifa said proudly, frowning slightly from the effort needed to actually force Link's arm to move, "he taught me quite the variety of grapples and punches and kicks."

Link's reply was delayed slightly from the concentration needed to keep their hands still. "While I'm a weapon user myself, I'm quite interested to know what you learnt and maybe pick up a few tricks. Who knows, maybe you can learn something off me." Glancing aside showed that Aeris and Barret were watching their arm wrestle with the same amount of attention you would for watching grass grow – for Barret, at least; Aeris cared to look interested.

"Ain't much going on." Barret yawned out after around a minute of watching. "Come on, you sliced Cloud's sword! Shouldn't you be winning by now?"

"I used full-body torque to generate the force needed to sheer through, not just my arms." Link answered, wondering what happened to his favourite green cap. There just didn't seem to be enough nostalgia value by just wearing green coloured clothes.

"Why don't you two have a full-body wrestle instead of just the arm?" Aeris offered, "You can flaunt your skills as much as you want that way."

Link just laughed at that. "Sorry, but I'll have to decline."

"Why?"

"I'll lose."

Aeris shrugged. "You sliced a sword, you might win."

Cid took that time to interrupt. "You two can stop your sissy hand-holding exercises." He said gruffly before pointing at Link. "Hey Link, no one here is willing to sell some petrol. I want you to persuade them to."

Aeris chuckled. "Have you considered that maybe they don't have any petrol?" Her chuckled died off after that, perturbed at the thought.

"If they got no oil, I'll make them dig for some oil."

-

True to both of their words, there was no oil in Wutai. Everyone here used a peculiar breed of plant that easily combusted for fuel or coal, and either would just jam the Tiny Bronco. Someone offered to replace their engines, but it would have cost a whopping three hundred thousand silver pieces without complimentary fuel and that this special plant only grows in Wutai, meaning that they can only use it once. So, using Link's persuasive power of speech (which was really four words: 'can you help us'), roughly half of every free and able-bodied man was digging around the south of Wutai in the empty plains for oil.

Strange, but true.

As Cloud sunk the shovel into the ground, he wondered how the Turks got off this holiday island. Come to think of it, he wondered how any tourist got off. Either they had the fuel to begin with or they get forced to buy a new engine. Monsters were rampant over the fields, and with the heavy sounds of work and machinery it was inevitable a few curious ones would wander their direction.

Aeris had the luckier job as acting as a sentry on a raised platform, the hardest bit of work she had to do was raise her hands to pick up her sundae. Tifa and Yuffie weren't as fortunate as her, both being the soldiers to fight off incoming monsters.

Truth be told the roles were exactly the other way round. Aeris was reluctant to _not_ to do anything while everyone worked hard for her benefit. So when a monster was spotted before Tifa or Yuffie even reached it, it would be struck at least seven times by bolts of lightning and most of the time roasted and dead.

"Have you ever thought how damned hard what you want is?" Barret asked Cid, his mechanised arm fixed with a drill to break the hard soil. "We might have the equipment, but no way in 'ell do we have enough manpower!"

"Yeah well, I ain't backing out now." Cid sighed, taking the time to have a quick cigarette. "Ah," he said, relieved, "smoking is gonna be the death of me."

Link himself was having a bit of fun. Using the spade as a spear he was sparring with Cait Sith, both of them hacking away with nothing held back. For Link, he didn't feel any worries, as it was only a stuffed toy. For Cait Sith, how sharp can a shovel be?

"How on earth do you work?" Link said amazed, blocking a strike at his shins and retaliating with a heavy blow to the giant moogle's cheek. "Are you really all cotton and covering?"

The cat on top swore to the moogle to work harder before replying. "I'm a work of technology more than magic, really." He answered modestly, pointing to a scratch where a bit of stuffing was showing. "This stuff can amazingly send electric impulses, so I'm just one big nervous system." The moogle recovered quickly enough from the strike, raising the shovel and striking down like how a person might want to squash an annoying cockroach.

With his relatively better speed it was no trouble to dodge those stabbing motions. "So what's your brain?"

Cait Sith stopped, looking around to make sure no one was around. He quietly ordered his ride to lower down and gestured to Link to crouch as well. Covering his hand to make sure that only Link heard, he gave his answer:

"Now, that is a secret." Immediately the stuffed cat gave up yelling at the larger stuffed moogle, this time pulling a coloured megaphone from… somewhere and blared his orders out loud.

It wasn't the improvement of the giant stuffed toy than the sound punishing Link's ears that was turning the tide of the battle. "So," Cait Sith asked, his question interrupted by his frequent bursts of commands, "where'd you learn your fancy sword attack?"

"It's more instinct and experience than a real location," Link answered, now swinging the spade like a rope than using it like a spear, "though I had my share of educators and teachers. Especially in a world called Sanctuary, where I had to fight off some giant demon."

"That sounds impressive. Did you win?"

"I'm still alive." Link said factually, surprised that his wild and chaotic tactic of twirling like a spinning top was actually getting any results.

"Ah. How are you alive?" Cait Sith nodded. Ask a stupid question and get a stupid answer.

"Uh, by dodging his attacks?" Link wasn't so sure what he meant by that.

"No, I mean through all those years and that mountain."

Link stopped his Tasmanian devil attack, lowering his shovel and gesturing to Cait Sith to bend down. "People always wondered about that," Link whispered, as it was a conspiracy, "some put it to divine intervention. Others chalk it up to amazing luck and skill. But the truth, the pure and unsullied truth…"

Cait Sith lowered closer, bringing his ear closer in anticipation.

"… Is a secret."

The incorrect use of suspense was enough to knock Cait Sith down, but it was more a shovel to the giant moogle's back than this that caused his topple. "What goes around, comes around and turnabout is fair play. I can never remember which one means which." Link said cheerfully, walking back to his position to continue digging.

His efforts weren't needed anymore, for just a couple of metres away where six men and nine machines were working in unison there was a minor rumble as the earth exerted its weight and like an upside down waterfall oil gushed up from the hole, and until proper containment came half a minute later it kept pouring in its utmost ferocity.

Surprising was how a culture so set in tradition could manage to build up the technology to excavate and calculate the amount of oil they were standing on top. As scientists bustled forward with strange meters held in their palms transfixing their gaze, it was only due to the quick hands of one man that a scientist didn't accidentally fall into the filling pit of oil.

"Let's see… With this pressure meter, if I drop this probe," with carelessness that didn't befit scientific accuracy he chucked a metal ball into the pit, letting it bounce a couple of times on the side before plopping into the oil, "we should have an estimated…"

A minute of intense anticipation was a bit too much for Yuffie. "We have an estimated what? What do we have? Come on!" She asked adamantly, trying to peer over his shoulder to see the numbers.

"Patience, young girl," he chided, stepping aside so that her chin was no longer directly above his shoulder, "the numbers are still rising. Give it some more time. We live on very rich soil, it serves to believe that there is plentiful resources before us."

"I kind of disagree," Link countered, "for when I was here this place was one of the most barren islands. A few plants here and there, but not much."

Ten minutes later Cloud left to grab a cup of coffee for himself. Twenty minutes after that he returned with a tray, handing polystyrene cups around filled with sweetened coffee. Another ten minutes past that everyone was still waiting for the scientist to say something, but he kept scrutinising the results on the miniature screen.

"Aha! So that's it!" He exclaimed triumphantly, waving the gadget around and inadvertently smacked his companion on the head with it.

"What? What is it?"

"The probe collapsed under the pressure fifteen minutes ago."

A groan spread through the waiting crowd. They were watching just for this? A few muttered dejectedly before walking off.

"But fear not, it takes a lot of pressure to break our invention. That means we should have around two hundred billion silver pieces worth of crude oil underneath us."

Those that walked away froze, turned around and dashed back. Two hundred billion – the number was staggering! Godo would love to hear this pleasant news! They were sitting on a pool of wealth that if used correctly should buy them into the lead!

"Oh wait, cancel that number. The probe landed on something sharp that created all that pressure. I'll have to measure again."

Cid sighed. "Seriously, I don't give a hoot to how much you got down there. Just distil twenty gallons for me and I'll be happy." He snarled.

That brought up another interesting point. Never needing oil before, they didn't have a distillation factory.

One step forward, two steps back.

Through all their troubles, Cid could conclude that life stinked.

-

As Cloud left to haggle over his sword and Cid went to argue for finding a way to distil oil, Tifa and Link went to the garden of Yuffie's house to 'duke it out', as Barret called it. Link required a lot of persuasion, but with the promise of a buffet dinner even if he lost he conceded to their will.

"What're you doing?" Link asked as Tifa fiddled around with her shoe.

"I usually have a steel enforced heel and toe region to make my kicks more devastating," she responded, doing up her shoelaces, "so I had to take that set off and wear one of my less painful pairs."

On the sidelines Yuffie, Barret, Cait Sith and Red XIII were placing bets on who would win.

At a hidden signal both combatants sprinted at each other, Tifa's arm shaped as a hook to grab around Link's neck. It was a simple and straightforward attack, meaning that it could be countered with ease. Darting slightly to the left, Link hooked his own arm around hers and letting both their momentums spin him around her back with the arms as a pivot, he disengaged and shoved her lightly.

Tumbling forward, she turned around and smiled. "That's a cool trick. I guess you're quite the expert in this type of fighting, eh?" She praised, rubbing her slightly sore elbow.

Link shrugged. "There were occasions when such tactics were needed. I wouldn't call myself an expert though." This time he initiated the attack, sprinting in low, suggesting that he was either going to target her legs or bounce up and aim for her head region. Guessing that it was her legs, as he approached she jumped to get over him and managed to use his back as a platform to leap off.

"That's a trick a guy I knew kept using." Link commented, turning around and violently lashing out with a spin in hopes of hooking her ankles with his legs. "His name was Mido, and from where I came from he was the strongest among everyone."

Tifa managed to escape the brutal force behind it, although it managed to clip her slightly. Nodding grudgingly to Link, she could see how he managed to scrounge up the power to shred a sword – best stay away if he did any more spins. "He must have been one heck of a fighter then. I wouldn't want to fight him, I suppose." In his low posture there wasn't much she could do but keep her distance, waiting for him to get up or move.

Link chuckled lightly. "Nah, you'll win in your current state. A girl called Saria came from that village as well – she wasn't much of a fighter, but when required I've seen her do some pretty amazing things." Like summon the spirits to help her, for example. That wouldn't be considered fighting though, so Link chose not to mention it. Propping to his feet, he wondered what on earth was Tifa's diet: her bones felt like steel!

Before he could fully get onto a stable position Tifa struck out, her arm clutching tightly to Link's shoulder and while he was surprised with a light kick to his knees and a shove to his shoulder sent him to the ground.

Link was quick enough to dodge the dropped elbow, rolling out of the way before the full impact of Tifa's weight landed on his belly. "You're one mean wrestler, whoever taught you combat ethics should be ashamed of himself!" Link joked, springing to his feet and staying in a more defensive position.

"Sorry, it's just ingrained into my training – don't give them a chance." Tifa apologised, bowing slightly but never releasing eye contact from Link. He was one slippery opponent. "If people called you the Harbinger of Death, I don't see how you can criticise me though."

Link nodded thoughtfully, accidentally taking his eyes off Tifa to muse at the sky. She was wary of taking this opportunity however, wondering whether this was one of his distractions. "True enough, in my long life I've killed more men than I remember. It was under the call of necessity, but that's no excuse."

As the fight lulled into silence minusing the rustles of the grass and contacting hits, both Link and Tifa could safely conclude that each other were tough opponents. It was extremely hard to hit Link with his agile skips and dexterous evades, and equalling it out Tifa could shrug off any punishment he threw her way and she was good at guessing his next move.

"So," Tifa said casually, trying to bring some conversation back, "you mentioned the girl Saria. Care to describe her?"

It was easy to see the emotions flicker across his face, ranging from sadness and longing to nostalgia and joy. They disappeared as quickly as they came, like sparks from a fire burning away so there was no trace left.

"She was quite a young girl." Link said after a long pause. "One thing that distinguished her from many others was her green eyes and hair."

Link didn't seem to be paying attention to the battle anymore, his eyes glazing in memory, but his effectiveness did not diminish one bit. "She was quite a spectacular girl, my first and closest friend, although I think of her more of a sister than anything else."

"As I travelled the planets she followed me around, and to be honest I wouldn't have survived without her help. I also had two other companions with me, Navi and Shael, the greatest source of information I ever came across." A slight smile danced on his lips.

Tifa frowned slightly, but not because of what he was saying. Deep in his thoughts he didn't put the effort to attack, so all his energies were dedicated to dodging, and as rude it is to try and punch someone who is reminiscing the past, it was impossible to land a blow. Yuffie had an attack called Greased Lightning, but that was a more appropriate name for Link.

"She was the kindest person you would ever find, for every night after I slain somebody, no matter how insignificant the person, she would spend hours praying for apology and trying to ease his spirit into heaven. I guess I didn't mention that she was quite adept with spirit magic. She wouldn't hurt a fly, her belief in the cycle of nature insisting little interference." Link chuckled at how that differed from his view of the world back then. Whatever were in your way required you to move it out of your way, with brute force if necessary.

His smile dimmed and his eyes gained a more saddened shade. "In our travels, we were struck by a disease, one that evolved secretly in us and unleashed its furious rage hundred of years afterwards. Navi and Shael died, the disease punishing the weakest the most severely. I would have died too if not for Saria." Link sighed heavily. By this time Tifa stopped attacking and listened with the others.

"And as for Saria, I was not so effective in helping her. The disease ate away at my magic, burning away my grasp. Without its help, there was little I could do for her. Weeks into her sickness I managed to bring us to this planet, and there the Cetra managed to cure her.

"I thought that the worst had passed – she was clearly living, and her breathing was strong – and I took the time to bury my poor friends' bodies. When she awoke, it was clear that the disease did something worse than kill her. Where it struck my mana, it struck her mind. Reduced to the basic instincts of 'kill or be killed', it changed her." Link closed his eyes, but Tifa could see tears welling up at the edges of his eyes.

"It made her into a monster. The monster made her hungry for power. The power made her into something completely different from how she started with: a sweet caring girl. Instead, it turned her into a malicious being, no longer fit to be called humane at any level, desirous for death of others and with the overwhelming hunger for more power. It made her into Jenova."

In the silence that prevailed after that, you could hear Yuffie fall off her perch on the fence and Red's jaws hang open.

Link sighed sadly, blinking to remove the tears before gazing at everyone in turn: Tifa, Yuffie, Aeris, Cait Sith, Barret and Red XIII. "You previously gave an offer for me to join your team. I declined then." Link stated plainly, his trip through memory tiring his emotion reserves. "I would like to pull back my answer. I heard that Jenova still lives, and I have a few things to settle."

Barret tried to clear his head in means of swinging it back and forth. "Whoa, that's a lot of information to be taking in. We gotta get Cid and Cloud over here, for this is some pretty rough stuff." He muttered to himself, absently scratching his head before realising it was the wrong arm being used.

-

In the end Cid gave up and bought the over expensive engine and had to choke up more money for proper installation and fuel. Cloud, after half an hour of intense haggling and bargaining managed to clip down the price by an amazing one piece of silver, but their disquietudes seemed like nothing in contrast to Link's sullen demeanour.

"Man, he had it rough." Cid commented as they relayed his story to Cid and Cloud. Link was up in his given room, relieving his depression by meditation, but more likely that he wanted some time alone.

"I find it hard to believe Jenova, that giant of a thing was once a regular sized person before." Cloud said doubtfully. After all, no way can a person grow to twenty times her previous size, no matter what she was drinking off."

Aeris nodded. "It's a bit unbelievable," she agreed, "but I still believe him. History says that the Cetra were wiped out by a disease brought upon by Jenova, and his story makes sense if you combine it with history."

"But there are still some holes in his story," Cait Sith added, "like how his friend Saria could live as long as he could, and how on earth did she… it… whatever ended up found in ice and Link in a volcano. With him joining us probably means he wants to fight Jenova, so it goes to say that he had fought Jenova before. Now, how could he have done that without magic, and can he still fight her again?"

Yuffie yawned at the questions. "Yeah, yeah, but it ends up with this: do you guys want him to join up or not?"

It didn't take much to think on that. There wasn't much to disagree on – the Tiny Bronco had more than enough space for another passenger, and since Link didn't use magic they didn't need to ration their Materia. With everyone agreeing, Aeris decided to go up and tell Link of their decision.

Link however was asleep – a strange but effective way to deal with emotions. Lying perfectly straight, arms kept to his side and head looking straight up, it was hard to actually say that he was asleep considering he kept his eyes open. A further inspection of his breathing rate would have ascertained that he was unconscious anyway.

Quietly Aeris walked downstairs. She would tell Link about their consensus tomorrow morning.

-

_"Go, Epona! Go!"_

_"You fool, run away! RUN!"_

_"Are you crazy? You want me to waltz straight into a volcano, fight a dragon and waltz out?"_

_"Thanks Navi. Seriously."_

_"Saria's Song.__ Epona's Song. Song of Storms. Zelda's Lullaby. Sun Song. Song of Healing. Song of Time."_

_"I shall cleanse the land by blood, and purify the skies by fire. Let them pit their strength against mine."_

_"Damn it, I'm trying to save them. The least they could do for me is NOT shoot me. Or attack me with a spear. Or throw me into a jail. Or throw me off cliffs."_

_"Holy, did you see that jelly in skin, Navi? How come all the Zoras are thin, but the king is so… yeah, chunky."_

_"Well, we got some oversized dinosaur with some seriously bad breath. And a dinosaur who is going to get one heck of a back ache."_

_"Stop it. Stop it. Stop it stop it stop it. I'm not listening. I'm not listening! The Great Deku Tree can't be dead!"_

_"Rauru, sage of light… I'm now an adult… times have cha- SWEET MOTHER OF HEAVEN WHAT HAPPENED TO CASTLETOWN!?"_

A complicated mix of his past, words that he spoke jumbling by and in no sense of time or reason. His life seemed to live in the same type of pattern, powers rising and waning and friends and foes changing sides without any warning.

If only his magic remained, then the song of Time could be used. What he would have given to turn back the clock by a millennium and more and stop his decision to show Saria the wonders of Termina. Who would have thought that such a simple act would have such disastrous consequences?

His memories returned in his sleep, but they never sparked when consciousness returned. Fleeting images of Darunia's monstrous hug, the four giants being called and the evil glare of the moon danced by, but never could he remember the names of anyone or where he met them.

_"Let's go, Link. There's nothing you can do for them here."_

_"Epona seems to like you as well, Fairy boy. Maybe you two can be friends!"_

_"What? How did you do that? It's now day one again…"_

_"How cute – a insignificant insects dares raise his sword to protect his princess. Now, this is the last time I will ask kindly:_ where did they go_?"_

_"To be frank, Link, we're doomed."_

_"I will take away your memories of these horrors. Live your childhood as you deserve."_

_"Goodbye, Link."_

-

A/N: Whee heee heeeee... I seem to have one heck of a mood swing when typing this. From happy to sad to happy to sad… Ah heck, it'll balance out in the end.

As usual, please feel free to review and apply your criticisms. To my previous readers, I thank you for waiting this long (was it long? My time sense is a bit warped) for this chapter to come out, and despite this story's small start I hope, with all your encouragements, it will bloom and enter the history of triumph!

Thanks.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

_The sun glittered on Link's blade, a thin lance of gold that pierced through the ranks against this sole person. Many were spellcasters, their blue robes proving their faction allegiance. Archers, knights and spearmen built a protective dome around them, every single gaze cast upon Link._

_He could almost hear the questions running through their minds. Did they think his master mad, choosing to pit a single man against their entire army? Who was this nutcase, willing to throw his life away for a hopeless attempt? Or does he hold some secret, a weapon of great destruction?_

_Overconfidence and overcautious emotions tumbled through the men, each sizing up Link and were either satisfied or perplexed by his appearance. Sword in one hand and shield in the other, he would have looked like the common knight if not for the lack of armour._

_"Ques tries," /Now fools/ Link said lightly, spinning his sword before clasping tightly to the grip, "Xers." /Die./_

_They didn't understand his language, but they didn't need to. With a roar that would have crumbled the cowards he charged, blade glowing with mana as he dived straight into the nearest formation._

_Startled, some men unleashed their arrows in the wrong direction or without the necessary strength behind it, the chaos behind Link's surprise attack causing them to injure each other. The mages managed to start chanting their death spells, but the concentration of many was disrupted by the jarring clashes of steel. Some knights boldly strode forward to meet Link's attack; their shields alight with faith and swords blazing with courage. Neither could help them._

_Amidst the flashes of steel and arcs of magic aimed at him, Link couldn't help but wonder what the purpose behind this was. His present host requested the assassination of some bloke in a castle, but his arrival was noticed and an army was sent against him. Now, from the murder of one man, it became the massacre of a thousand._

_Years of fighting had taught him much, and what he was showing was a fraction of his total repertoire. Dancing along the tip of spears he flicked his shield out, using the blunt edge to shear a man's neck apart. The archers were of no use now, any arrow most likely going to land on a friend than him, and so they bravely charged in with hatchets. _

_Experience also taught him that bravery did not equal skill, and each in turn was dismissed with a caved in skull. _

_Twenty minutes of bloody slaughter later ended with a frightening result: an unscathed man garbed in green on one side, sixty shaking knights, four hundred spellcasters and more than five hundred dead bodies littering the other side. The wary knights slowly stepped into a protective semi-circle around the wizards remaining, for they were their only hope of destroying this… beast._

_"Tu reir norai vrol," /You won't be saved,/ "ques vrist tos se lesqu." /now get out of my way./ Without regard of the implications of the act Link flicked off the blood from his sword and sheathed it. Leisurely he sidled his shield to its proper location, this time only holding a rosary of black beads as his weapon against the standing force._

_They all knew when magic was going to be used. Steel and physical force will do nothing against such an onslaught, so the mages started chanting. A globe of frost started to grow above them, lines of power spiralling into it, fuelling it._

_"Se'st vei trix Krond'ir Din," /I no longer summon Din's Fire,/ Link sighed dejectedly. His demeanour changed from melancholy to malicious quickly however, a subtle smirk slowly stirring. "Se'st fai vinr eqis Kare Krond." /I do however call upon White Fire./_

_The chanting stopped. The globe of magic blasted towards Link. At the same time, the rosary was dropped, each bead slowly boiling as colour morphed from black to red and finally to white. Heat radiated off Link at an intense level, an aura of blazing silver swirling into existence. As frost met fire, the union of four hundred against the might of one, in anticipating anxiety everyone awaited the victor._

_The mages lost._

_The globe of frost was quickly engulfed and swallowed in the oncoming wave of fire. The knights valiantly raised their shields in defence, praying with all their hopes that faith and fortune will see them through. Their cries to the heavens however turned to cries of mercy, metal melting into slag and bone into dust. A few seconds later and surrounding the mages was a river of molten steel and flesh._

_The flames curled from their trajectory into a blistering ring around the spellcasters, and any attempt to douse it met with a fierce spark striking out and reducing the man to ashes. _

_The purpose of the fire was different this time, as was reflected by its motions. Instead of flickering around like a normal flame, in uniform it spiralled around them, glowing ever brighter and somehow not blinding Link. As Link stepped onto the rosary, the ring withdrew, burning away at the minds of the men inside._

_Hours later and there was no sign of Link. People questioned the reason behind his last attack, leaving the mages unscathed and choosing to leave. In a few days they regained consciousness and continued with their tasks. People were about to brand the attack as pointless._

_Except that two weeks from the event, the castle lord was murdered, layers of frost magic surrounding him and turning him into a statue of ice. And surrounding him were four hundred spellcasters with their throats slit._

_The White Fire became a spell to be feared. Not only could it ravage the flesh, but also it could influence the mind, burning away at what Link didn't want there, and in that case it was the devotion to their lord, and their willingness to live._

-

Music, a coherent complexity of notes that alone would have been irritating to the tuned in ears of man, but together work in great harmony and from irritation comes relaxation and enjoyment.

Light from the ocean waves danced on Link's ocarina, a melody learnt from years past wafting around the group. For three hours he continued playing his song, and it didn't seem like it was about to end any time soon.

It was amazing how something with only eight holes in it could create such a myriad of music. Albeit a bit restricted in choice, it did not stop Link from playing or the rest from listening.

There wasn't much for the rest to do in the first place, anyway. Stuck on a plane that cannot fly, there wasn't much in terms of entertainment value. Aside from listening to Link play, what else was there to do?

Well, Cid was steering and Cait Sith navigating, Aeris and Tifa were sketching the scenery. Barret and Cloud were caught in an engaging game of snap, leaving Red XIII and Yuffie to just kick their feet and twiddle their thumbs.

It was amazing what age did to knowledge, Red XIII concluded. In Cosmo Canyon, not even the longest of their celebratory chants matched the length that Link was playing so far. He guessed that perhaps one of the reasons is that the longer a music lasts, the more uncoordinated the people would be by either weariness or boredom, something that won't affect a person playing alone.

At Red's analysing stare Link's music slowly dwindled to a finish. Carefully he strapped the ocarina back to his belt, shifting it slightly to make sure that it wouldn't fall off. Even though he couldn't use it anymore, it would be sacrilege to let such a precious artefact sink to the bottom of the ocean.

"Forgive my staring," Red apologised, "but I find it amazing that a man could play so long and so well without need of a pause."

Link chuckled lightly, shifting his weight. "A man can't." he answered frankly, rubbing his backside. "Sitting on your butt for that long does things to you. But to play the ocarina, all your need is a pair of healthy lungs… and fingers."

Red XIII nodded to that. "True. Where'd you learn such a piece of music? Did you just improvise continually, or did someone actually write something that exhaustingly long?"

"A bit of both, actually. The real piece is meant to last for seven hours, but I can't remember most of it so I made up the gaps. If it wasn't for your teeth I would be glad to teach you how to play."

After a stretch of silence Link returned to playing. It didn't take long before he started reminiscing about the meanings behind all the notes. For the song he was playing, it was only a celebratory tune from Harrogath, one of the lands of Sanctuary. Meaningful, but with little substance compared to the Bolero of Fire.

Slowly he eased the melody into the Serenade of Water, feeling around for the familiar tingle that a warp song usually came with. Even over great distances the feeling would stay, although a bit muted. But now, centuries past the age he lost his magic, all it was now was a soothing tune.

As his mind wandered, so did the music. It flowed into the cycle of the Song of Storms as Link reflected on its true origins. The infuriation of a man, the betrayal of a brother – one caught in the disparaging loop and seeing no way out, the other expressing his anguish and letting the heavens release his tears. Only a few of the songs were cheerful in their history, but even they were tainted by the darkness that surrounded the necessity of their use.

As his music died off, the taste of his memories slowly losing flavour, Yuffie decided to pick up the conversation. Unlike her female friends, she wasn't that talented in the arts of drawing, and Cloud was already absorbed in his forty-ninth game – how he was still interested she didn't know – leaving very little to do.

"I thought you said earlier that you could perform magic at night." She said casually, lying down to admire the sky. "How come I never saw you do anything yet?"

Link smiled ruefully. "Yeah, I guess I overestimated my position magic-wise back then." He replied, sighing a little. He paused momentarily, mentally kicking himself for sighing too much. "I could give you an explanation, but it's a bit long."

"What else is there?" Yuffie said, gesturing to the open ocean. "Unless I feel like learning how to catch fish with my hands, there's nothing better for me to do."

That point was proven when Barret cursed only having one hand when he lost the next game of snap, bringing the tally to an astonishing number of fifty. Cloud celebrated his still unbeaten record and Barret accused him of picking on a handicapped man.

"Well," Link started, shuffling slightly to get comfortable, "I think I already told you of how a disease attacked my magic. What it did precisely was send my controls out of whack – I could try to levitate an object and instead accidentally blow it up. It also made it harder to 'grasp' the controls for wielding my magic as well.

"It started getting progressively worse, and soon it became nearly impossible to even call up the smallest amount of magic. Around that time I arrived on your planet for help, although the intention was for Saria.

"The Cetra had incredible magic." Aeris stopped her drawing, turning her attention to Link when she heard that. "Not only were they able to help undo the blunders I did in helping Saria, they managed to devise a way to help my magic as well. I'm not so sure how they did it, but if I wore a pendant they crafted, the gravitational pull of the moon will draw the lifestream back into me. I don't know the physics behind the rest, but apparently it helps give me back control."

"Cool." Yuffie said, impressed. It wasn't everyday you got a brief glimpse into the past wonders. "Where's the pendant?"

Her reply was a gaze north. "Gone, buried in the snow. In my last fight against Jenova I lost it."

"Why don't you go find it?"

"Last I remembered there was a gigantic super-continent up north. I can't really remember where I fought last time only that it was thick with snow."

Yuffie glanced at the map. "The continent doesn't look so big. It's mainly due to its mountainous regions, but not many cities can be built on it."

Link chuckled. "That makes things worse, eh? Either my memory is so poor that not even big or small is reliable anymore, or that the land chunk has broken up and drifted so there are more islands I'll have to check. I mean, what are the chances that I'll find it, or someone finding it first and thinking it's a pretty bauble?"

Red XIII, being the organic calculator that he is, was working on delivering an answer. "If we assume that by its light there are only ten hours in the day where there is a significant chance that people are around," he started, closing his eyes as numbers started running through his mind, "and that for the remaining fourteen hours there's a four percent chance of anyone being around. Now, considering the geology of the ground for soft rock that constant wearing might have allowed the pendant to dig lower in and the consistency of shifting earth, for the present continent alone, just stumbling across it should be…"

His answer of 'zero point zero, zero, zero, zero, zero' was cut off by a jubilant cry by Cait Sith. "Ha!" He exclaimed triumphantly. "You said that my raffle technique doesn't work? Well, is that an island I see? And what's that? A house? Dear heavens, my good Cid, we have stumbled across some civilisation!"

Cid grumbled unhappily, dejectedly tossing his shortened cigarette stump into the ocean. "Yeah, well, that's luck only." Turning his head gave a clean view of a disapproving Barret. "So, it's just one cigarette. It's not like I do it all the time or that everyone in the world does it." He muttered caustically.

Cloud grunted, hopping to his feet. Unsteadily he wobbled, scowling at the cramps in his legs. "Well," he yawned, snatching the map from Yuffie, "we appear to be roughly south from the mainland. How long have we been on this plane?"

"… Zero, zero, zero, zero, eight, four, three percent… wait, sorry, I made a mistake somewhere." Red XIII cursed, returning to his mental calculations. After a few seconds his ears flicked to Cloud's questions. "Ah, around seven hours I believe."

"Well, we might as well take a break, use the toilet, see if that shack has some refreshments. Maybe whoever's there will have a bit of information for us."

-

It was a great time to find land as it was, for Cid was desperate for the toilet. Cait Sith was taunting him by burning time inside it, continually talking about rain formation and precipitation. As the kind merchant set up a table full of snacks for the rest of the group, Link and Aeris went off to admire his weaponry.

"Hey cool," Link said, slightly surprised, "I didn't think anyone used this weapon anymore." Gently he raised the bow off its rack, admiring the care spent in polishing the exterior. Turning it around to get a better perspective, he could see that it was a composite bow, although he was finding it hard to identify what it was made of.

"It's more ceremonial nowadays," Aeris said, plucking the string, "with guns and gigantic cannons, you can see why people stopped using it."

The merchant, seeing Link's interest in the item, walked over, a professional salesman smile on his face. Coughing to gain attention, he rubbed his hands before handling the bow. "A fine specimen of art isn't it?" he agreed to an unspoken question, herding the two towards the light. "It never has seen true combat despite our very rough times, but on a test shot I found that with this arrow," from somewhere he twirled a thin arrow into existence, "it has a maximum range of a bit more than a kilometre on flat ground. Great if you can see the poor bloke on the receiving end." At some private joke he chuckled, mumbling about eyesight to himself.

"That's quite nice," Aeris said, although unsure on how to use it, "what kind of stuff can it pierce at that range?"

Link answered that one. "That depends more on the arrow," he replied factually, taking the arrow from the merchant, "I think this one should be able to cut through leather, but nothing stronger."

The merchant grinned. "Ah, we have an expert here I see." Swinging the bow into one hand, he clapped his hand on Link's shoulder and shepherded him outside. "You had a good eye, picking out this weapon. While your friends engorge themselves upon my homemade biscuits – yes, they'll be paying for it – I wish to show you something."

As they passed by, finally the toilet door opened, Cait Sith taking his time to vacate the facility. Being a stuffed toy he had no reason to be inside in the first place, but for a few seconds Cid's murderous look was reason enough. After those few seconds elapsed and promise of bloody murder followed afterwards, maybe picking on a guy with a spear wasn't such a hot idea.

Being on the peninsula of the mainland, the area was dotted with many tiny islands, each one only able to support a few trees. Handing Link the bow the merchant left to fetch a quiver of arrows, returning only to point at the island in the distance.

"I've never been able to sell this bow," he sighed regretfully, "and I fear that it will just wither away on its rack. If you can get all twenty arrows onto that tree – yes, that tiny speck – I'll give you a special seventy percent discount."

Link blinked. "I'm not really interested in buy-"

"A tough customer, eh?" the merchant butted in. "Fine, eighty five percent. I'm not going higher."

"How much would that cost me?"

"Well, nine thousand silver pieces." At Link's surprised stare, he shrugged. "It's a bargain! Made by the last craftsman and of superb quality! You won't get anything better than that!"

He was about to keep his persuasion going, when his ears picked up the sound of money. Bowing quickly to Link he darted back in, replacing the snacks for a whole blown meal (reheated) for Tifa, who gave him the considerable tip.

Link shrugged. He wasn't going to buy it, but might as well see how rusty he had become. Squinting at the blob in the distance, he doubted the bow would project the arrow that far. Knocking in the arrow and drawing, he aimed slightly higher that what his eyes told him to before releasing.

_Squawk! Thwack!_

Damned passing birds; at least the merchant would have something to eat tonight.

Inside wasn't any calmer than outside. Cid was trying to strangle Cait Sith, a pointless attempt since he didn't need to breathe in the first place, but a calming one anyway. Tifa accidentally catapulted a blob of baked beans at Aeris, who retaliated by burning the rest of Tifa's newfound lunch into ash. Cloud, after an incredibly annoying act by Yuffie, was trying to brush the crumbs out of his hair. Red XIII belatedly realised that there was meant to be a sugar limit on the Wutaian girl, and her hyperactivity lead her to try and ride him like a camel.

The numbers just ran through the merchant's mind. Cid had somehow managed to knock over and smash an antique pot, and he wouldn't mind paying a little bit more in compensation. The more they break, the more they pay, the better off the merchant eventually becomes.

Barret, in a dim moment of despair, wondered why he picked this lot to help him save the world. Ah yes, they were overpowered maniacs. Now if only Tifa and Aeris can stop hurling burnt food over his head… just because he was lacking in hair didn't mean he felt nothing of the soot sprinkling by.

"For king and country!" Aeris exclaimed, charging the once-was-bacon with a bit of electricity so Tifa would get a static shock. Alas, Barret, being in the middle, got the blast instead.

"You don't have a king!"

"Yes I do!"

"Who then?"

"I'm sure the Cetra had a king or queen at some point."

"I used 'have', a present tense word. You had a king. It's all ancient history."

Aeris paused at that point. "That brings up an interesting question. What did the Cetra do in the Temple of the Ancients? Did the kings live there?"

The merchant perked slightly at that. "Ah, are you interested in the Temple of the Ancients? I could share a bit of information with you, if you like."

Cloud raised his eyebrow at that. "Oh? What can you tell us?"

"For two hundred silver pieces, I shall reveal my story. For three hundred silver pieces, it will come with free popcorn to enjoy."

Cloud groaned. Paying for information wasn't uncommon when he was a mercenary, but he doubted this merchant was one. Personally he would rather have walked off and thanked him for trying, but so far they didn't manage to find anything about where they were going. Reluctantly he handed the money over. No way was he going to pay one hundred silver pieces for a bowl of lousy popcorn.

He carefully counted the money before nodding. Gesturing for everyone to get comfortable – a laughable thought, demonstrated by his sudden burst of chuckles – he rubbed his hands, wondering how much he should tell them before he charged them more. They were nice, if peculiar, guests, so he decided to just get the whole story out; it's not like they looked desperate for it anyway.

"The Temple of the Ancients…" the merchant started off dramatically, gesturing eastwards and pausing before he continued, "a great temple, hidden within the maze of water. Every hundred years, when the Cetra were alive, everyone would take the journey there. It was not a hall for the kings, but the tomb for the dead."

His dark laughter was enhanced by the birds dropping dead outside. "Every Cetra that ever died was buried there: the poor, the wealthy, the known, the forgotten. I'm sure all of you heard that the Cetra were more in touch with the lifestream than us humans, and with so many links ended in that very Temple, legend has it that a Materia was made: the Black Materia, the great harbinger of doom."

Everyone reacted to that. Aeris was amazed how much information could be passed through legends that was true. Cloud frowned slightly: he knew that Sephiroth was off his rocker, but what was the reason to destroy the world?

"The Cetra feared this. Should a malevolent person get in hold of such a destructive Materia, the world would be under a great threat. So they found a way to seal it. They created a Keystone, something that would not allow anyone to enter unless the Keystone was in his or her hands. Something deceptively like a Materia, to make it harder to find," his eyes narrowed as he quickly analysed their interest in his story, "something I used to have."

"What happened to it?" Red XIII asked. Surely that something so important in legends would not have been handled carelessly and lost.

The merchant stuck his hand out. "Eight hundred silver pieces for that piece of information."

Cloud groaned at that. This guy was trying to leech them of every penny! Unhappily he handed the money over.

"Well, in my own fashion, I sold it." The merchant answered after he deposited the money into his cashier's till. "To some guy who ran the Gold Saucer, can't remember his name. He paid quite a hefty sum for it. Strange collector, kind of chunky."

Everyone glanced into each other's eyes before nodding. Next stop: the Gold Saucer.

-

The bow brought back memories for Link. The first time he handled such a weapon was in the Forest Temple, and it was desperation that taught him how to use it effectively. He did not have the time to fool around and practice with it: there were some Poes to kill and a green-haired friend to save.

The Fairy Bow was one unlike any other. For such a small weapon it packed quite a painful punch, monsters felled by a single arrow. Perhaps by ingenuity of design or magic properties, without it defeating Phantom Ganon would have been impossible. Without it, fighting on Epona would have been a lot trickier.

Who would have thought that Saria was the Forest Sage? To be fair, Link doubted any of the other Kokiri were better replacements for Saria, but the shock of having one of your friends in such a position was too great to bear. Such an innocent child, unmarred by the violence that surrounded and sealed her, given a responsibility that many adults would quail at. Discipline beyond comprehension and wisdom above men; she had to gain all that and look where it got her.

Glancing at the arrows remaining, Link chuckled sadly at how rusty his skills had become. The Fairy Bow was powerful, yes, but not indestructible. Somewhere in his journeys it snapped, leaving him with over five hundred years of lacking experience. Despite his growing strength his hand was no longer as steady as before, and managing to lock onto the tree in the distance was now impossible.

Ah well, at least the merchant isn't going to go hungry tonight. Or the day after. Maybe he'll buy the six birds off Link.

Returning to his retrospection, it was sheer luck that Link ever found Epona. What would have happened in Talon never fell asleep in the castle and Malon didn't wait around for him? What would have happened if Malon weren't that friendly to strangers? What would have happened: nothing. Link admitted that he probably wouldn't have saved the Ranch from Ingo if it weren't for his personal attachment to Malon. He wouldn't have gained Epona and therefore cover the Field and Termina in speeds unimagined. He wouldn't have been able to help Biggoron and in turn get the Biggoron Sword. Without the Biggoron Sword, Link would have found it a lot harder to defeat many of his enemies. And what would have happened if he lost?

Ganondorf wasn't known for his kindness. Given the chance he would have sliced Link's throat while he slept, ending the turmoil the Hero of Time was bringing to Ganondorf's reign. Maybe Saria would have been better off that way.

Maybe not.

Stretching his arm muscles a final time, he gazed into the distance, imprinting the image into his head. Mentally tracing the outline of the tree, slowly his eyelids lowered and the bow was raised. The last arrow was drawn. His memory guided his motions. It was now a shot of faith.

His eyes flickered open the second after he released the arrow, watching it streak towards the tree. Unfortunately, it cut short and landed messily at the base. Link laughed despairingly at that: even faith had failed him. It wasn't that much of a surprise anyway, the Goddesses failed him hundreds of years before, his magic failed him soon after that, and it wasn't much of a revelation that everything else might fail him as well.

Shouldering the bow he picked up the dead birds, yanking the arrows out of them. Two of them were larger than some turkeys he'd seen, so maybe they'll get a good price. Hopefully they weren't poisonous.

-

The merchant was not only always greedy for money, but stingy in giving it out as well. For all the birds all Link got was a measly twelve silver pieces. Cloud was unhappy that he had to pay another two thousand silver pieces in damages, five hundred in food rations and another thousand for additional plane fuel.

"So where are we going?" Link asked as Cid gave his final farewell – a very rude finger – to the merchant. Yuffie's sugar rush had died down, leaving her in a more understandable mood but yearning for more of the sweet stuff.

"The Gold Saucer, a large amusement park." Cait Sith answered, rolling on top of the giant moogle. "The games there are the best in the world, if we have time. I personally recommend a motorbike racing game."

It was another long ride, as they had to loop around the continent to the western bank and dock there. Link continued to play his ocarina, Cloud and Barret continuing their card games and Aeris and Tifa enjoying the scenery. The only difference was Cid yanking Cait Sith free from his giant moogle and leaving him to struggle in the waters for a few minutes before pulling him out.

It was surprising that they tractor car had not been stolen or vandalised for the few days that they left it. Some monsters had enough intelligence to gain a simple pleasure in destroying things and the occasional hiker might have thought it a quick way to get from point a to b. Red XIII reasoned that they first had the keys, any hiker would have been called a hiker for a reason and few monsters enjoyed the exposed regions of the shore.

The drive was just as boring as the Tiny Bronco, except a lot louder. Link gave up playing his ocarina when the engine drowned it out in the first four seconds of ignition. Yuffie was feeling slightly sick, the vibrations disturbing her stomach.

"Can we stop for a moment?" she asked weakly, pale in the face and her eyes slightly glazed. "I need a breather."

As annoying Yuffie was sometimes, people were more willing to agree to a person looking like she was on her deathbed than usual. She staggered out, dizzy, before rushing towards the nearest bush.

Link was glad to get off the tractor car. It wasn't spacious to begin with and his legs were getting a bit cramp. Hopping out, his gaze hovered over the landscape before focussing on one point in the distance.

"What's over there?" He asked Tifa, pointing to the valley.

"Nibelheim, my home town."

"There's something strange about it." Link muttered. "The lifestream in that area is skewered, and the stink of Jenova comes from that direction."

Tifa raised her eyebrows at that. "I thought you couldn't do magic? There's a failed Mako reactor over there, and last time we went there, strange men in black cloaks wandered the place. There's nothing special about it though."

Link frowned still. "I cannot use magic, but I can still see it. The lifestream and the wind still carries Jenova's scent, even now, but it's strongest over there. Can we go over and check? Someone used her type of magic there."

Tifa bit her lip. She doubted Cloud would be happy going there again, the first visit being painful enough for both of them. Then again Link knew Jenova better than anyone else, and his opinion on the matter couldn't be discarded so easily. If he managed to get insight by visiting, they would have lost the chance by passing by.

"I'll see whether Cloud wants to go." She said at a length, but Link didn't seem to be listening. Muttering quietly to himself he paced around, never taking his sight from the valley beyond.

His musings was cut short as he turned sharply to Tifa. "What's a Mako reactor?"

Tifa scratched her head for a while. "I don't know the exact science behind it, but it uses Mako to draw electricity from." Link's confused look persisted, so she continued. "Mako… well, Materia is made from Mako. I guess you can say that the lifestream is made out of Mako as well – although that's a rough way to look at it. From what I learnt beneath the earth is an ocean of Mako, and falling into it is very dangerous."

Link nodded slowly, returning to his speculations. "I see, harnessing the earth's energy flow… interesting. Maybe that's what's skewering the lifestream."

As Tifa walked to confer with Cloud, Aeris approached to continue the conversation. "If you think that's bad, wait until you see Midgar. With eight Mako reactors, the lifestream is pretty much dead over there."

If Cloud was troubled over Link's request, he didn't show it. His face as stoic as usual, his decision-making went without any emotional expression. After a few seconds running it through, he nodded in consent.

Half an hour later Yuffie managed to lurch slowly back to the tractor car and Cloud told Cid of the stop. Nibelheim being the safest route through the mountains, they were heading there anyway.

It was as quiet and desolate as ever, the strange cloaked men keeling over and groaning on the streets. Link frowned at the cloaked men; Jenova's magic seemed to be radiating worst from them. Looking around, he quickly revised his opinion, for the whole place was… off, especially the mansion in the distance.

"Creepy place," Cid muttered, lighting a cigarette. "Kinda hard to believe you guys lived here." A man stumbled by, his eyes glazed and distant as if he was under hypnosis. Cloud identified him as the innkeeper.

"What is that house?" Link asked, pointing to the large mansion in the distance. He could see the lifestream warp around and seemingly avoid the building.

"Shinra Mansion, probably the most twisted place in existence – the monsters there are freaky." Tifa answered. "One of the reasons I think they haven't managed to kill one another is that most of them aren't living in the first place."

Link didn't waste any time in heading towards the building. In fact, he didn't even wait for the rest, muttering something about Jenova and disturbances. Red XIII reasoned that since this was his first encounter near a Mako Reactor and where Sephiroth was, he would be a bit more interested than the rest. Cloud didn't give a hoot about why Link was interested; keeping his opinion simple in that no one should enter that hellhole alone.

The Shinra Mansion was just as it was the last time they visited: the cracked window panes sieving the light that entered, the floor littered with bits of paper and the floorboards cracked, the walls stained and rooms and dark and hinting of death.

The group just watched patiently as Link wandered around the first floor, although his gaze kept dropping down in concentration. Picking up a few bits of paper, Link was glad that he bothered to learn this planet's language years ago.

"I thought you said there were monsters around? This place is gloomy, but doesn't look dangerous." As if mocking him, a monster chose that time to appear. Swinging down on what appeared to be an anchor, it would have looked human if not for the lack of facial features. Snarling it managed to grab Link, the momentum behind its attack taking the breath out of his body.

Link was quick to react. Struggling to unwrap its monstrous arms proved to be ineffective, but a kick to the groin managed to let it release him. Howling in pain it dropped Link, and luckily if Link didn't manage to grab onto its leg he would have plummeted in a messy fall. When the anchor started to swing back down Link let go, but not before giving the monster a twisted ankle.

With Link out of the way, the group could commence and do their usual tactic on defeating such a foe. With a concentrated blast of fire magic courtesy of Cait Sith and Aeris the metal chain holding up the anchor melted, leaving the monster to fall to the ground. From that point on it was really just Cloud stabbing it to death on one side and Barret seeing how many bullets he could lodge into it on another.

Link stretched his back, hoping that he wasn't bruised from the encounter. "What the heck was that?"

"They call that thing Ghiorofelgo. Don't ask me why." Yuffie answered.

Link looked amazedly at the ceiling. "Where on earth did the anchor come from?"

Tifa shrugged. "Like I said, the monsters here are freaky."

Link sighed, picking up the pieces of paper he landed in. He doubted anyone lived here anymore, but making a mess in someone's abode didn't seem appropriate to him. He could still remember the assassination attempts he conducted always involved the least spilling of blood.

Placing the sheets back onto the table they were knocked off, one particular letter caught his eye with the mention of a Turk. "Hello there, what have we here?" Link asked no one in particular, raising it so that he could see the text better. "Let's see what is says… 'He was to betray us, a fallen Turk that chose to go against me. I'd like to see him get out of this now. As punishment, I have removed one of his arms and made him more monster than man. He will never fit into the society he used to dream of. He will never smile at the light of day, trapped in his own coffin of misery.'" Link paused at that. Strange stuff. Glancing up briefly showed that the others were just as interested in the letter as he was.

" 'I have decided to make this into a little game. Littered around this mansion lies four numbers that will open a safe. What is in the safe is up for you to determine. Freeing this Turk is for you to decide. Here are the clues: box with the most oxygen, ivory's short of tea and ray, the creak in the floorboards and the fourth clue is blank." Link shrugged. "Poor guy, being locked up for Lord knows how long."

Aeris contemplated the clues. "A box of oxygen? Ivory, tea and ray? I have no idea how we're meant to understand all that."

"Why the heck do we hafta free this guy?" Barret asked. "Link had his stroll, and its better we leave before we meet more demented things."

Aeris gave him a disapproving look. "It's called being nice. If you were locked up in a cell, wouldn't you want someone to free you? Besides, if he was a Turk, he might have important information that we could use."

"A box of oxygen." Yuffie rolled that thought through her head, imagining all the places in the mansion that had both a box and oxygen. She smacked her head for thinking like that: if there was any place without oxygen, nothing could live there. The blow to her head seemed to be doing wonders for her, as she suddenly recollected something about the place. "Isn't there a tiny indoor garden somewhere in here?"

Cloud shrugged. "Unless the monsters here take pruning as a hobby, the plants should still be as dead as before. They might have been alive when this message was written, so it's worth a shot."

The climb up the stairs and navigating back to that room wasn't done in complete peace. Monsters still cropped up now and then, the most prominent being the anchor monster of earlier. They grew used to them and with the higher rate of appearance the more efficient they were at dispatching them.

Instead of finding the clue first, they found the safe. Since Cait Sith was adamant in his raffles technique, everyone believed they could waste a little bit of time to humour him.

"I tell you, it works!" he mewed unhappily at their treatment of his skills. If one could consider luck a skill.

"I'm sure it does." Aeris said a bit condescendingly.

"Why doesn't anyone believe me? It got us to the strange merchant down south, didn't it?"

"It also said I would dance ballet before I eat a turkey." Cloud said drolly. He rolled his eyes at the stuffed cat's pout before heading to the safe. "Whatever; just give me the numbers and I'll see whether they work. It's a one in a million chance, you know."

Cait Sith's answers weren't numbers. Instead, they were more like "right… stop… left, leeeft… stop… riiiiight… a bit more right… stop… right once more… stop." Link smiled amusedly at the whole matter. While the rest took their time to sit down and relax, he was still wary of the crazy anchor monster to risk sitting down. He already had four encounters with them and was still no closer to finding out how they hid the anchor or how the house held so many of them.

Amazingly enough, the safe did click and even Cait Sith was surprised with his success. Before he could gloat and do his little cat back flips however, Cloud was forced to stumble back as the safe door was blasted open from something inside.

As the thing inside slowly stalked out, Barret's words summed up its looks best among them all:

"That's one ugly piece of clockwork."

-

A/N: The battle will continue the next chapter. Hopefully I will get round to doing that pretty soon. I thank all my reviewers for their encouraging messages. As always, many thanks to all readers and deeper gratitude to those who take the time to leave a review. And if you're one of the Christian faith, enjoy your Christmas.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_Link's steps echoed in the stone hallway, wearily flicking his sword. It seemed like a curse, the final revenge from the dead, their last remnants of justice by haunting their slayer. For no much water, flicking or polishing he did, the blood of the assassinated will always cling to his sword._

_Link embraced his tiredness, the fatigue driving the cold-blooded murder… no massacre out of his mind. The fort he had to slink through was no amateur at underhanded assassinations: traps, warnings and guards placed in a choking weave around each floor. Every man bore extreme devotion to their warlord, and so when the alarm went off everyone swarmed there, no matter how unarmed they were: soldiers, pageboys, waiters, chefs, janitors and butlers, all just grabbed whatever metallic object they held and ran for their Lord's protection._

_So Link panicked. He had faced larger armies, but those were in larger fields and without such outrage. He had the means to defend himself: an impromptu Nayru's Love wouldn't have been the most effective defence, but against their fire pokers and frying pans it would have been sufficient. But Link fought more lethal opponents without panicking, so in this case he unleashed his ultimate spell, the White Fire. _

_Skin roasted away in less than seconds, leaving the flesh bare for the fire's hungry bite. A sole man's scream would have only lasted seconds, but an entire mass created a choir of pain and fear, haunting the halls and Link's ears. Fearful of killing more people, Link rushed the rest of the operation, hacking down anyone in his way to make the process quick. The warlord was of course awake by then, slowing down the process even further, allowing more properly trained soldiers to flood in while he challenged the lord fight._

_Link sighed as he opened the mahogany doors for Saria and his room. He had achieved quite the impressive string of successes for his present host, and so the reward was a fancier room plus more supplies. He might have tried to kill less people this time, but who knows? He just might have emptied the whole fort of life._

_As she had been doing for the past two days non-stop, Saria was folding bits of paper, trying to make miniature origami boats, complete with a single passenger and lamp with the Hylian character of Heaven written carefully on the base of the boat. _

_At first for each man that died against Link, Saria would spend hours whittling away at a block of wood to create a detailed man standing on a pedestal, his name and 'for his Belief' inscribed beneath him. As the numbers rose into their thousands and it became impossible she was reduced to just creating wooden tablets with their names, but as day by day more and more were slaughtered Saria now resorted to creating a paper boat to heaven._

_"Est meiri vrei?" /Did it go well ?/ Saria asked, rubbing her eyes from the lack of sleep._

_"Que nos se." /You know me./ Link sighed, sitting down to help Saria paint on the character for Heaven. "S'ui astki etry ters fro." /We're going to have to make more./_

_Saria breathed deeply, and even though her small stature and hair cloaked her face from Link's eyes, he knew tears were brewing in her eyes. As compassionate as ever, each loss of life, no matter how insignificant or poorly known was a deep blow against her conscience. She didn't need to ask for numbers or names, the nature spirits of every Planet cried each name with agony, screaming at the unfairness of it all. The least Saria could do was record each persons' name in a large tome so that they will never be forgotten, erased without a trace._

_"Vistas la quirs." /Go to sleep./ Link said, rubbing her shoulders soothingly. "Triel se carieo fra que." /I'll make some for you./ Stubbornly she shook her head, returning to her paper folding with strengthened zeal. Sighing, with a gentle hand Link led her back to her bed, promising her promises he could hardly believe himself and bidding her a good rest._

_Turning back to the multitude of paper boats carefully layering the room, it was almost hard not to cry at their misfortune. Now, their sheer bad luck was dragging down the lives of others. Tomorrow Link and Saria would let the boats set sail on the great Ocean, and pray for each soul to go in peace._

_For no matter what the final outcome is, Link doubted he would ever will. _

_-_

It wasn't even a true monster. Pistons whistling and gears clicking within the behemoth, its mechanical might proved to be more fearsome than expected, a surprisingly quick lunge slamming Yuffie against the wall.

"What the hell do we do with this?" Barret yelled, his bullets seemingly bouncing off its purple tinted glass armour. He accidentally stopped his onslaught, noticing a wrist watch tick away within the machine, and paid as a magic blast tore the ground beneath him.

"What the 'ell is it?" Cid roared back, slamming his spear deep into the machine's leg to prevent it from running after Barret. A mechanical whirring was its cry of pain and anger, spinning around to slam Cid away.

Link frowned deeply, crouching in his post shaded by the giant black safe. As ancient training taught, he was awaiting a moment of opportunity, to deal the most damage. The problem was that with the strange vials, pulleys, gears, wires and chunks of steel, it was very clear that whatever they were fighting was not alive. And anything that was not alive wouldn't suffer death.

Cait Sith and Aeris were whispering rapidly, trying to build up their spells before the machination got them in their attention. With a final shout Aeris released a blitz of lightning, electricity arcing through the air and caressing the monster with its fiery touch. Link noted carefully how one vial seemed to have absorbed the energy.

Cait Sith didn't have as much time as Aeris did, the machine duplicating her attack and launching it at the stuffed toy. Surprised he had to end his spell very abruptly, the condensed magic dispelled in a messy ball of fire, and where the cat managed to narrowly dodge a passing lance of light, the giant moogle wasn't so lucky.

"A Lost Number," Red XIII muttered, pacing around it at a safe distance, "there are stories in Cosmo Canyon of machines that have absorbed the ambient energies and malevolence, turning into sentient beings of dark destruction." With a roar he charged at it, teeth sinking deep in a pipe that stuck out. Before it had a chance to shake him off, the Materia in his headgear glowed briefly, sending ice magic down his teeth and into the Lost Number.

"Nice story and all, but how do we kill it?" Yuffie called out, angry that her giant shuriken seemed to be bouncing off its face without dealing any real harm.

"Just smash whatever you see; it was never alive in the first place!" Link responded, lunging out from his hiding place, sword aimed at one of the glowing vials. The red glass that protected it proved why a Lost Number was a creature of stories, Link's sword only managing to chip it. Quickly he hopped back, narrowly dodging a swipe at his legs.

Cloud and Tifa were taking quite a battering, always calling its attention to make sure everyone else had a clear shot at it. As Tifa delivered a heavy kick to its jaw, Cloud swung his sword, splinters of fire flying as he finally managed to pierce through its heavy glass armour. His confident smirk was wiped off pretty quickly when it duplicated Tifa's attack, somehow managing to move its unwieldy weight to deliver a straight kick to his chest.

"I'm getting a bit fed up of this," Cloud growled, shaking off the glass from the lamp that shattered above him, "and I think you'll be fed up of this." His sword started to glow with energy, illuminating the corner he landed in, and with a yell he ran forward, only to jump up and land a solid blow with his sword on the Lost Number, managing to successfully cleave half its head off.

"Few have survived Climhazard," Cloud said proudly, flipping his sword in his hand, "and I'm not going to let you be one of those few."

Link looked at him strangely. "Do you always talk to yourself?"

Cloud shrugged. "Leave me to my dramatisation."

Unfortunately, the Lost Number didn't fall apart that easily. Gears hooking back together, it slowly shuddered back to its feet, the red glass _peeling_ off to leave the entire monster covered in purple glass. Inside, one by one the vials popped, the liquids held inside them glowing with Mako energy and trickling over all the gears. Giving its version of a mechanical snarl, its eyes glowed angrily as it slowly turned to face Cloud.

"I seem to have forgotten to mention something." Red XIII said slowly, watching in trepidation as the gears absorbed the glowing liquids and the monster started bulging and convulsing as all its energies were diverted to one cause. "Depending on what type of attacks are used to kill it, one half will fall off to leave an overpowered second half."

With a roar equivalent of an explosion the purple behemoth charged, swinging wildly in hopes of snagging Cloud with one of its quivering arms. In its berserker state it had little in terms of accuracy, but as it drove holes through the holes and seemed violent enough to demolish the entire village, it made up in sheer power.

As the team had discovered, in its rage it only seemed intent on reducing Cloud to a bloody mess, allowing the others to crouch near the safe and launch their projectile attacks from there. But where before they didn't seem to be hurting it, now they didn't seem to be scratching it.

Releasing her hand Aeris finished her enchantment on Cid's spear, the whole weapon crackling with golden energy. Standing up he launched his weapon like a javelin, managing despite his inexperience to slam the sharp edge into the Lost Number's version of a neck. The spear just bounced off, but the lightning magic coursed through its being, freezing it to its position in pain.

Link frowned in thought before yelling out in revelation. "Without those bottles inside, it can't take magic damage very well! Just pummel it with everything you got!"

They pummelled it, lightning, fire and ice damage streaking across the room and striking deep. Equally it was pummelling them, its sudden outpour of its fury taking heavy tolls on those struck by it, so most of the time they were casting healing magic more than offensive skills.

Link felt a bit useless in this situation, wondering if this was how Navi felt in his fights. With no magic to speak of, it was better if he stayed out of the limelight and watch from the distance. There was something he could do, however.

Twirling he sword in anticipation Link ran alongside the walls, stopping suddenly as Cloud was smashed into the portrait in front of him. Worried slightly as the Lost Number's attention was now upon him, he decided to throw away all attempts of slinking behind it.

With a deep breath he propelled himself off the wall, his eyes concentrated on the spear at its legs. He wouldn't be able to use it, but he saw Cid use the Materia slapped in it and he might enjoy having it back in his company again. Link rolled to avoid the swipe above him, dodging its attempts to stomp on him.

Taking into account how much time it took to move each of its own limbs, Link decided to take the risk of physically attacking it. Jumping, he curled into a ball to generate more momentum. If his guess were wrong, he would have been a hovering ball just waiting for the monster to bat away. His eyes widened as he saw its arms move, but once dedicated to the attack he had to complete it.

It had been a long time since Link ever prayed to Farore or any of the three Goddesses, and as the arm swung closer to he wasn't about to. They abandoned him, so he'll abandon them. Fuelled by his rage he managed to complete the spin, sword flashing through the dim lighting to sink deep in its foot, piercing further and digging into the concrete underneath.

As it struggled to free itself (and proving its lack of intelligence) Link ran off to grab the spear, tossing it back to Cid. Nodding in thanks, Cid hurriedly plucked a red coloured Materia from his spear before tossing it to Aeris.

Concentrating she whispered the necessary words and Link could see the magic twirl from her body to fuel the Materia, letting it glow with its power. Unlike all the others he saw however it didn't seem to be doing anything direct, instead appearing to be… talking?

The earth shook when she finished her casting, shuddering as if expressing the pulse of the Planet. That was enough to shake Link's sword free, releasing the Lost Number from its pin. Pulleys spinning in rage it lurched towards the tightly formed group.

"Titan is coming, we just have to wait." Aeris promised as each ground-shaking step increased with speed and force, shaking whatever lamps and art still on the walls off. Tifa flicked her eyes to the door, making sure their escape route won't collapse with the arrival of Titan. She could see the monsters fleeing, some tripping over and getting trampled over the escaping horde.

As the Lost Number jumped to deliver its final attack, the wall crumpled as a gigantic tanned arm smashed through to grab it. Surprised it couldn't do much as the fingers curled around its relatively diminutive frame to toss it against the mountain outside. As everyone watched from the newly made window, they saw the Lost Number lunge to gnaw at Titan's black matted hair, to be brushed off casually.

With monumental strength, the summoned being picked up a massive boulder, using it as a club to pound the Lost Number into a scrap of twisted clockwork. When it was done, the boulder had cracks running through it and the monster didn't seem to have the strength left to stand.

Turning slowly Titan faced the group, his eyes shadowed by his brows and his jaw set in perpetual grumpiness. With an indiscernible nod it looked up, magical body dissipating in glowing lights back to the Lifestream.

As the monster struggled to reach the Mansion, coils dangling and gears creaking, a final surge of lightning courtesy of Cait Sith vanquished it, the joints finally falling apart and the absorbed darkness drifting out of its broken shell like black steam.

"Sweet mother of heaven, that was tiring." Aeris muttered, collapsing to the floor. Wearily she handed the summon Materia back to Cid, who promptly slotted it back into his spear.

"If you had so much power available, why didn't you use it in the beginning?" Link asked, impressed that the Wutaian quality prevented his sword from even being chipped.

"Summoned beings… are very tricky things." Tifa answered as she helped Aeris get back to her feet. "Most aren't very happy to act like one-time mercenaries for some insect, and it takes a lot of magic to persuade them to. They also get very irritable if you call on them too often, and may turn on you instead. So it's best to call them when we know they'll do the most damage."

Cloud groaned, waiting for the medicinal potion to work on his cracked ribs. Leaning against his sword, he nodded in agreement. "If you get the maths wrong, they might end up helping the opponent, not you."

"Meh, there's not much in the safe." Barret grumbled, picking out the scroll and key. "We don't even know which door we need to use the key on to find that Turk."

Red XIII took the scroll for a quick studying, his eyebrows rising in interest. "This might prove useful later on." He said quietly, carefully slotting it in the pocket in his headgear. Link closed his eyes, trying to feel around for Jenova's energies.

"He should be beneath us." Link answered. What was with human stupidity, to inject the cells of some malign being into you or as a catalyst for some other process? "He still glows with life."

Aeris moaned faintly. "I think I'll take a rest in the inn. Magic potions take time to kick in." With her reserves emptied, Tifa escorted her out of the building, commenting on the broken beams and cracked staircases.

Yuffie hopped out to forage through the broken Lost Number. Her ninja education told her never to waste an opportunity, and most magically pumped machines should have some source powering it. As she gingerly shifted the broken scraps of metal, a small red thing caught her attention.

"Hello, little Materia," she muttered to herself, fishing it from the wreck, "You must have been lonely stuck in that machine, weren't you?" Discreetly pocketing it, she applied a small amount of magic to see whom it called, getting the distant reply of Odin.

"I think we should head back first and find that guy later." Cait Sith mewed, running out of magic to cast any more healing spells. "If we meet some other monster a tenth of that thing's strength in our present state, we'll be in one heck of a fix."

Cloud shook his head. "Look at the place: one sneeze and it'll probably collapse. I think every monster has already run for its life – it should be clear. Better lead the guy out before the building falls down on him and makes it a real tomb."

Gesturing to the nearby room, everyone followed Cloud down the circling stairs into the basement, bat droppings and the strong stench of ammonia smothering the air and stairs. It made Link nostalgic about all the caves he travelled through in the past.

One would have thought that a building deep inside a volcano or a cave at its base and filled with fire breathing dinosaurs would smell like smoke and sulphur, especially if lava was present. From what Link's experiences told was that usually those smells had to duel with excrement of the creatures that lived there, creating a thick blanket of stink and sweat to fight and find your way through.

Link smiled softly at the memory of his first kill in Dodongo Cavern. The heat ran thick and sweat flowed, Navi herself exhausted from dodging laser beams from the sentinel obelisks called Beamos. Link himself wasn't as dexterous, and the scent of burnt skin latched tightly to him, making his stomach weak and mind woozy.

It was with great difficulty Link tackled the baby Dodongos, really just a nasty set of teeth with a whip-like tail that burrowed through the soil and lunged out without warning. If their surprise attacks were not enough, it was their group tactics and tendency to explode when dead that made them truly lethal to a ten year old.

Beady eyed, their teeth gnashed his Deku shield, shredding layers with each attack. It only took one stroke from his sword to kill one, but by then he would have to run to avoid the coming explosion. When he first fought them without the knowledge of running away, the explosion caught him by surprise. Body exploding, bits of burnt flesh and guts littered the walls, floors and predictably Link, while he spat out the entrails that entered his stomach, understandably he threw out more than that, vomiting heavily, body shaking from the effort.

Link sighed at the memory. As a child he was afraid of blood, but centuries of violence and death had desensitised him from that childish fear, and at times of great despair he relished in it.

"Well, this is the only door with a keyhole." Barret shrugged, fitting the key in and with a loud click opening the latch. The odour of rotting bodies engulfed them before the mass coffins, an unpleasant sight and smell.

"Are we sure he's still alive? I mean, how long can a man live without food and water?" Yuffie asked dubiously, pinching her nose. Carefully she opened one coffin, shutting it quickly as the eyeless stare of the skeleton gazed back at her.

"Oh he is. Trust me on this." Link muttered, his gifted vision tracking onto the coffin in the corner. Slowly the group walked towards it, unnerved by what they might find. With some tension they removed the wooden lid.

Thankfully he wasn't what some of them expected. When the note said less man than monster, Yuffie thought he would have been some kind of Frankenstein monster, deformed attachments laced on at the most disfigured angle. The only inhuman attachment the man had was a golden metallic claw replacing his arm. Other than that he looked normal – although he did have his black hair long, a bit unnatural for a man. His pale grey robe was ripped at the sleeves and collar, showing the protective vest he wore beneath. A bundle of coloured cloth acted like his pillow, bound together by a rag.

"Yo. You 'wake?" Cid asked gruffly, prodding the sleeping man. With no response, he flipped out his lighter, letting the small flame hover near his face.

The golden claw twitched, moving to toss the lighter away. "You have done the world an unnecessary evil by awakening me." The man in the coffin whispered, eyes opening to glare at Cid.

"Unnecessary evil? Dude, we were only freeing you. What's so evil, anyway?" Barret asked, comparing his bulky gun arm against the man's claw arm.

"I have committed the greatest sin, a sin that haunts the world and my mind." The man looked up, staring at the purplish stone that made the ceiling. "And by those that are the sin, I have paid and became sin myself."

"That's a… harsh interpretation. What sin is it?" Link said, wondering whether anyone could have ever sinned worse than him.

"And why do you care?" The man asked coldly.

Link shrugged. "We've all made a few mistakes. Just trying to be a good Samaritan."

"Lucrecia. Jenova. Sephiroth. Hojo. Sins. Evils. They plague the Earth now, I imagine."

Cid grumbled in confirmation. "Damn straight. Got no clue 'bout who the 'eck is Lucrecia, but we're hot on the trail of all the rest. Especially Shinra." Cid peered suspiciously at the man. "Who are you anyway, Turk?"

The man, by some amazing feat of acrobatics, somersaulted out of his coffin, spinning behind Cid and placing his claw arm so that any wrong move by Cid would mean a pierced neck. "I am no longer a Turk, so do not call me by that name." Flicking his eyes to the surrounding people, he removed his mechanical arm from Cid's throat. "To the company I used to associate with, I was Valve-13. I now refer myself by my name now: Vincent Valentine."

Red XIII hummed in thought. "Most names have a meaning behind them. What's with valve?"

Vincent ignored Red's question, choosing to direct his attention back at Cid. "You mentioned that you were after Hojo. Do you have any knowledge of his locations?"

"All we know is that he's cranking some crazy thing of his over in Midgar. I bet we'll be heading there eventually, after we deal with Sephiroth first." Cloud answered, pointing to the vague direction of north.

Vincent nodded slowly, strings of jagged curses against Hojo flying out of his mouth. Eventually he looked at the group and then his metal arm, closing his eyes at some pain best forgotten. "No," he whispered at the end, "I cannot achieve it. Not by beast or by bane." Glancing at the confused and perturbed party, he shook his head. "Leave me to my sins. Avenge the world for me."

Climbing back into his coffin, everyone had to respect his wishes and so left the dank room. Yuffie complained that no one can live without food or water still, but if he managed to last for ten odd years or so, he should be able to last the next.

"Did anyone understand what he said?" Barret asked, scratching his head in confusion. "By 'beast or bane'… what the heck was that? This guy got some fancy lingo on his side."

Cid was mentally complaining about how easily Vincent got his in an improvised choke hold. "I could have escaped," he grumbled to himself, "wouldn't been a problem if I knew someone lying down could do fancy rolls in the air. He wouldn't have had such luck if he didn't have such a weird arm."

Link was wondering what it was that made Vincent so angry with Shinra that he would hate to be related slightly with it. Link himself only had a vague idea what Shinra was: some super corporation that was damaging the environment, but beyond that he had no idea what they did. From what he could see on Vincent, maybe they did transplants or genetic engineering as well? It could be possible.

Leaving the Shinra Mansion, Yuffie whistled at the scale of damage done to it. The north wing had been reduced to rubble, walls missing and roof gone, and the south side having big holes punched through it. The whole building now had a twisted look, a face scrunched up in pain and disfigurement as it mourned its loss. As expected none of the residents seemed to notice the change in their scenery, following their routines as they had for the previous years.

Cloud delivered the recent events to Tifa and Aeris, commenting on Vincent's strange demeanour in greater detail. "He seemed a bit off, if I might say so," Cloud said, "although I guess I would be as well if I had been stuck in a box for a few years. Not a box even, a coffin: the sick freak that placed him in there had a really strange sense of humour."

Aeris sighed. "Pity, it would have been nice to have a Turk on our side." She glanced over where Cait Sith was choking on a pair of dice and Tifa rushed over to pull them out. "I know some of the Turks are incredible fighters, and I've seen some of their records. At least he has a way out, if he chooses." She swirled her magic potion and fruit cocktail, enjoying the way the light refracted through it and how the flavour tickled her taste buds. "How did he look like, this Vincent?"

Cloud shrugged. "I didn't take a good look. Grey robes, black hair, maybe red eyes? Had very pale skin, probably from lack of sunlight. Oh yeah, got a golden metal claw replacing one of his hands, probably his left."

Aeris hummed, gazing out the window. "How common do you think claw arms are?"

Cloud gestured quickly to Cait Sith that he was betting fifty silver pieces on the roll eight. "They might be common: Barret and his friend managed to replace their arms with machines. I doubt that they make up a large number of the human population though."

Shrugging, she finished her special cocktail before returning to her designated bed. Rolling over, she amused herself by watching Link and Yuffie try to beat each other in how many bananas they could juggle before one or more went splat. So far Yuffie was gloating her achievement of seven whilst Link struggled to rearrange his.

A man with a golden claw… As Aeris allowed the warmth of companionship to rock her to sleep, she wondered whether she saw such a person before.

-

Revenge. That was all that consumed his mind when he was entombed, and for a brief second of his awakening that was all he knew. But despite how he hated the company that raised him, trained him and ultimately went against him, the strict teachings of cool logic and cold reason flooded back him, and he now accepted the futility of finding Shinra.

Actually, no. As a Turk, Vincent knew Shinra inside out. That's why they got rid of him; mutilating and changing him so that now will ever help him. Out of fear or out of disgust, whatever the scientists believed will fuel their prejudices. Even if Vincent knew every corner and air passage of the Shinra headquarters, there were too many things in between. Mountains, rivers, countries. He would never get to them alone.

Grimacing at an itch on his right arm, he mentally cursed Hojo for what he did. In the big picture Vincent was now truly a monster. In the small picture he couldn't scratch himself without risking ripping his own flesh anymore.

Dropping his head, he stared blankly at the ceiling above him. Now awake and with the small glimmer of hope in the shape of those that set him free, it was now impossible to fall back asleep. His earlier acrobatic leap proved that the genetic reformation prevented degradation of his cells, something he grudgingly admitted. Now the problem was to see whether he could last his atonement when justice just hanged right in front of him.

Sighing, Vincent gave up. His mind would be consumed with the what-ifs if he stayed to suffer his self-imposed imprisonment. Getting out, his foot budged the gun that laid at the base of his coffin. Picking it up, the motions automatically repeated themselves, Vincent quickly checking it for damages by disuse or humidity.

Valve 13. He found it rather ironic that he got assigned the unlucky number when you compared its connotations with his life. He was known by that name by the unique gun type he used. Automatic reloading by air pressures in three valves, it could, despite its tiny size, launch 1.3mm bullets with precise accuracy. It could only shoot twenty six times, but Vincent made sure each bullet counted.

Rolling his shoulders, he placed the gun down gently to pick up the wrapped up pack of cloth. Untying the knot, he waved the cloth that bound it before using it as his bandanna. The rest of his clothes were quickly donned.

Striding out of his stone cage, Vincent was determined to take this window of opportunity before it went away.

-

Yuffie was an enterprising girl Link could give her that. She wouldn't satisfy herself with a 'ha!' with her victory, instead making sure she leeched as much personal profit from banana juggling as possible. Now Link was wandering around the dazed town, picking up loose change and logs to sell as firewood. He found it a bit peculiar that no one seemed to care about locking their houses or looking after their belongings.

Cait Sith called the Gold Saucer 'probably the largest entertainment park ever built'. Whatever was your pleasure you could find there, be it something as relaxing as fishing to adrenaline filled laser-shooting roller coasters. A platform held up by the mountains beneath, Cait Sith promised that once you went there you would always remember it as the 'gateway to heaven'.

Tifa at one point went to talk about the Chocobo races, her enthusiasm for the sport evident. Link couldn't see what was so entertaining about seeing some oversized birds run like crazy, but Tifa said it was betting on them and seeing them win that kept the excitement. She also said that if you owned your own Chocobo you could enter the races and win the big cash prize.

Link shuffled his sack slightly, the branches sticking uncomfortably into his back. It was amazing how materialistic the world had become. In another hundred years or so, he didn't doubt that you could buy your way into Heaven. Heck, one could do it now even.

His journeys through the Planets desensitised him from the ethereal glow of wealth. One form of currency might be worthless in another Planet, and one precious metal might be in abundance in another. In the beginning Link and Saria kept a few diamonds to trade in the next Planet they went to, but after a few Planets where they were useless they were dropped.

Link closed his eyes, choosing to let his memory lead him back to the inn. Where was it, that village with the cursed rich family? The Sheikah village…? No, that was not it. Whatever its name was, let it be known that greed is a curse.

Spiders… Link couldn't remember how the family were tied with spiders. From what his hazy memory could gather, one of the members – probably the father – found a giant spider's web. Already he had been given warnings to leave the spider alone, but with the whispers of fortune buzzing through his head, it was too much for him to ignore. A magician then had to deal with the giant spider by cracking it into one hundred golden Skulltullas, using the rich family as a chain to ensure it could never rebuild itself. Alas, all one hundred parts ran off to the corners of Hyrule, and unless all one hundred were exterminated the chain had to stick… just in case.

Link didn't see why they didn't kill it in the first place. As a ten year old he managed to kill an oversized spider, so why didn't an army properly equipped deal with the full part Golden Skulltulla? Unless of course it was a magical spider, which would make more sense.

Link wondered who that magician could be. Had to be one hell of a magician, if an army couldn't deal with it but he could.

Deciding that the tiny twigs weren't worth taking, he hefted his sack over his shoulder and returned to the inn. Link doubted anyone would want to buy wood, but if Yuffie said she could find some customers, she probably will. Maybe she'll create unlicensed tongue depressors, who knows?

His eyes promptly darted to the red cape at the corner of his eye. In this dull town it was strange to see such a vibrant colour, and Link turned his head in curiosity. Raising an eyebrow at the outfit, Link quickly flashed Vincent a wide smile.

"Decided to come out for a breath of fresh air, eh?" Link asked cheerily, inhaling a deep puff.

Vincent shook his head. "The atmosphere now holds the stink of Shinra. Such an inhalation will shorten your life." Immediately Link choked it out. "No, I come in serious business."

Link nodded, understanding what Vincent came for. Gesturing to the inn, they walked in silence back.

"We all have our enemies," Link said so softly Vincent almost didn't pick it up, "some that we have sworn to end with our total capabilities."

"Nowadays everyone had a troubled past and lives a troubled future." Vincent agreed.

"Who is a true friend? For that matter, who can be a true enemy?" Link chuckled bitterly. "One person, that's who it can be. Your only ally might be the foe you were fighting against. Your best friend might be the enemy you dreaded."

Vincent said nothing, choosing to let Link open the door and lead him up the stairs. Mentally he wondered who was this man.

"Jenova. Who would have thought?" With a sigh Link opened the door to the rented room, gesturing broadly to the group. "We now are allies against one enemy." He said loudly, choosing to introduce Vincent that way. "Or two," he added as an afterthought, "or three, if you add Sephiroth and Shinra."

Red XIII smiled genially to Vincent. "Great to see you again."

Tifa looked questioningly at everyone else, but shrugged in acceptance. "The more the merrier, someone said. I just have one question I think needs an answer."

Vincent nodded in compliance. "And what burns your mind?"

"How'd you stay so long inside a coffin without, well, ending up in a coffin?"

Vincent's mouth dipped slightly, his eyes flicking to look at his metallic arm. "I'm sure you've all read the note that gave you the number. As it had said, I am more monster than man. I found a way."

Aeris ended her scrutiny, recognition alighting her face. "I remember you! I saw your face on an old picture once! It had you next to Reno and Rude and the rest. I think that was a Turk graduation ceremony or something." Smiling happily at her conclusion, she welcomed Vincent warmly. "It's nice for you to help us."

Cid scowled at Vincent, still not happy about his stunt. "I'll be frank: I don't like you much, but you're gonna be a big hand."

Vincent raised his hand to forestall the incoming wave of 'thanks' and 'welcome to the team'. "I'd like to say," he said solemnly, eyes flicking from person to person, "that I only came for the opportunity to deliver the killing bullet to Hojo and Shinra. Once that mission is accomplished, I will go as needed."

Cloud shrugged. Red XIII said the same thing, and he was still here. Let Vincent stick to his beliefs, he stay a lot longer than he'll believe.

-

The night came with Link awaiting its arrival, taking his perch on the inn's roof. Patiently watching the orange glow of the sun dip into the west and purple halo of the moon make its presence known in the east, it wasn't too hard to appreciate its beauty.

"Great stars, far beyond," Link whispered as night fastened its hold over the sky, "what life do you hide behind your silver veil? Are you my way home, does the planet I came from revolve around one of you?"

"Does a way home exist, dancers of the midnight sky?" Link breathed deeply, ignoring Vincent's earlier health warning. He lived centuries of injury; a bit of bad air won't kill him. "If there is a way, will I ever want to return home?"

Talking to the clouds never gives an answer, but Link always found the habit soothing. "Jenova plagues this Planet, her stench is branded into the Lifestream. It's my obligation to cleanse them of my imposed mistake." Looking back throughout the years, he returned to the questioned he always returned to: why did he have to show Saria Termina?

Pulling out the ocarina, he let the starlight illuminate its bluish frame. Saria's Song soon came from its hollowed vessels, the tune played slow and sadly. A world with Ganondorf was better than a world without Saria. The magic in the music had long ago been lost, yet even in her Jenova form a small part reacted to the tune. A small part, but that had been large enough to save Link in one of their skirmishes.

As the night wore on and the moon shone its pale glow directly above Link, the music slowly melded into a piece composed by Saria, dubbed the Ocean of Eternity. Created in acknowledgement of the impossibility of home, the notes echoed sorrowfully through the cold night air, speaking of distances unachievable and hopes unbelievable.

A sound from beneath signalled Link back to the real world from his world of memories. It was just Barret snoring in his sleep. With an airy note Link ended the tune, grateful that everyone never bothered him about his music. They held memories that he himself did not.

They spoke of stories he himself will not.

They told of immeasurable loneliness he himself cannot.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_They were ready. After turning a conquered man into the conqueror, they had all the ingredients needed to cast the teleportation spell. Most hosts allowed Link and the rest to go, for to bind him to their service was to incite his wrath. And they knew how terrifying it could be._

_Navi and Shael fluttered around in excitement as Saria smoothened the rune mat out. Despite the numerous failures of the past centuries, there was always the hope that this time the Planet would be the right one. Link didn't dare have high hopes: a failure would then become a great disappointment, and too many disappointments would impede his ability to go on._

_Everything prepared, she started chanting. Kneeling as if in prayer, she whispered out the words, each syllable holding power within its soft sounds. The stones used to store mana glowed as she siphoned off its energies. The runes radiated an eerie light with each weave and bob of the fairies. _

_The process was long and arduous, and now and then Saria would extend her hand and touch the stones, drawing their power into her to continue to procedure. Navi and Shael would dance the weave that would act as the amplifier, magnifying her magic incredibly. Sweating she scanned the universe for a sign of developed life, her Sage powers long in disuse called up to serve her once more._

_The universe was a vast, wide Space of desolation, and very rarely would another node of life be found close to where Saria was looking at. There were stars, planets and moons too numerous to count, but very few ever supported life. It was searching for a needle in the haystack and checking straw by straw._

_After seven hours of intense searching, she found one. Flicking her wrist as a signal Link stepped into the rune circle, careful to not accidentally tip one of the items over. A minor nudge would send their entire spell askew, so they would have to abandon it and try again. Standing in the centre, he placed his hand on Saria's shoulder and felt what she felt._

_It was a land of vibrant life this time, her mind gazing through its thick forests and trickling streams. Small mammals scuttled across the rich ground and predators waited patiently for them. Her mind breezed past all this to guide Link's to the civilisations. These were developed enough to appreciate iron extraction, but the technology had not hit the point they mastered lightning. _

_Nodding in agreement Link picked up a vial filled with a viscous thick green liquid. Frowning in distaste he gulped the contents down, the acrid flavour burning like fire through his throat. It was a necessary pain, for temporarily it will give him an amount of magic beyond his normal reach._

_Navi and Shael changed their weave, circling and twirling in the pattern to home Link's powers and strengthening Saria's focus. Magic condensed rapidly in Link's body as he readied himself for the spell. When it hit the optimum level, the magic was released._

_"Tareal Farore." /Farore's Wind./When Link whispered those words, his magic imploded before revealing its true strength._

_A sudden breeze broke out, encasing the four present people in a bubble of wind. With a pale green glow it contracted, everyone inside disappearing as they were transported to the intended location. Airs caving in promptly all the instruments were tossed around in disarray, magic stones collapsing under the pressure and runes ripped._

_A man had been peering through a secret peephole, intrigued by their long ritual. The winds had caused him to shut his eyes in defence, and when he opened them the room was a wreck. The force of the vacuum yanked out the wall that had separated him from the room. Some marble slates of the floor were now dust motes, all glowing with residue magic._

_The man sighed, shaking his head. It would be tricky explaining what happened to his Lord. Bowing in prayer he wished the four travellers good fortune, wishing them luck in finding home. _

_-_

Link cursed as he ducked behind the large boulder, two birds whizzing overhead. Who would have thought: a group trained by near fanatical journeys through the depths of mental disturbance and back were getting pushed around by a bunch of flying penguins.

The last Planet Link had dwelled in, penguins lived in the arctic regions. Here, they now wore a Hawaiian dress and a party crown and flapped around like mad. The few things they had in common with their alien counterparts were their black-white counter-shading and their tendency to move in numbers.

"Nya nya nya nya nya!" One squawked and was quickly parroted by its three dozen companions. An annoying trick of theirs, it made everyone drop their weapons and try to blotch out their aggravating call. Barret was trying to overwhelm the sound with the racket created by his machine gun arm, which had the convenient effect of dispatching a large crowd of the penguins.

When the calls stopped Link peeked his head over the boulder, but had to duck back down to avoid another suicidal collision from these penguins. Tifa had called that attack the Rage Bomber, an infuriating attack that did little harm but caused a lot of anger. The only problem Link found in the attack was the penguin's tendency to crash into the rock, not him.

"Nature is a wonderful thing," Vincent said calmly, delivering bullet after bullet at the penguins, "one must appreciate how these simple creatures have evolved the methods to protect themselves."

Cloud laughed caustically, abandoning his sword to strangle one of the penguins. "I think nature went off at a tangent with these guys." Three penguins flapped to their comrade's aid, flying into the teeth of Red XIII who jumped in Cloud's defence.

The Rage Bomber attack was designed to make your blood boil. The theory was that the applied rage would while make the attacked more determine to defeat the penguins, emotion would override the logic centres and make said person's aim atrocious.

The theory didn't work so well when the angered person was a magic caster. Aeris stood like the herald of Heaven on the all terrain vehicle, cackling about megalomania as she unleashed a torrent of lightning upon the penguins. Her aim was pathetic, but when she was dealing large land covering spells it needn't be accurate.

The penguins squawked in surprise, scrambling around to dodge the erratic lightning bolts. Flying was a bad idea, considering lightning homed onto the closest target, but many of them did so. As a result many of them fell.

Yuffie waited irritably for Aeris to finish her spell before releasing her giant shuriken. Once the large thunderstorm had dissipated she tossed her weapon, smiling in satisfaction as it cleaved a perfect arc through the scrabbling crowd. Her smile dispelled quickly as the flock flew straight at her and the shuriken hadn't returned yet.

Yelping she dived to the ground, wincing as their claws raked across her armour and sparks scattering across her back. Keeping her head at a slant she watched her shuriken fly back. When it was close her right arm darted up, grabbing it and swinging it around to wave away the penguins.

Link darted up from his boulder, taking the opportunity to strike while their backs were turned. Spinning in his trademark sword spin, Link cleaved through the flock above Yuffie. Her attempts to get up were hindered when dead bodies started falling on her, but when the penguins called it their losses and flew away she was mostly grateful.

"Couldn't you pick a better place to kill them?" Yuffie grumbled, trying to crack the few pops in her spine. "Somehow their tiny little wings manage to carry their heavy weights." Link smiled apologetically, helping her get back up.

"What are those crazy things called?" Link asked when Yuffie was back to her feet. Sheathing his sword, he gazed into the distance where that rabble was now poking fun at some giant stone creature. "They're pretty vicious."

"Skeeskee. Don't ask who named them that." Cid's answer broke his continuous mumbling about how it will take to knock the engine back into shape.

Cait Sith sighed, tossing the keys to Cid. "Forget the tractor. The Golden Saucer isn't that far away. We can walk the rest of the journey." Brushing the bit of lint that was ruffled from his body he pointed to the corner of mountain where the shanty town North Corel lay.

Link never knew how they stuffed so much money into such a little wallet, nor all their supplies in a few rucksacks. When everything was packed and Aeris calmed down, they followed up on their trek north.

It was a slow trip, speed reduced further by the monsters that continually attacked. Given their proximity to the Corel Desert Prison, it shouldn't have been too strange to be attacked by rampant card-dealers that placed their faith in the gambling ring. A flimsy piece of paper of course never matched up to the steel of everyone else's weapons, but the cards were thrown as projectiles, the speed making it feel like concrete.

"You guys got very interesting shoes," Link said, trying to make up a bit of small talk. Wiggling his toes he watched how his sandals shifted to the motion, bending and constricting to ensure maximum strength at all times. "A truly unique design – the person who made this must have been a genius."

Yuffie nodded with pride. "That, I might add, is unique to Wutai. Through years of rigorous use my ancestors found the fabrics and plastics that were ideal for footwear, and with further tinkering the design evolved until its present state." She smiled, sticking out a foot and wiggling her toes as well. "Some tourists come to Wutai for those shoes alone."

"A great contributor," Cid added sardonically, "was that once Wutai lost the war, aside from cobbling and praying to giant chunks of rock, they had absolutely nothing else to do. The man who made it was not a genius, just a sufferer of acute boredom." He waved his hand at Yuffie's swearing gestures.

"Non-Wutaian shoes are perfectly alright," Tifa commented, "I managed to coax the cobbler who made my shoes to place a steel patch in the heel. With sandals, that wouldn't be possible, so I guess everything has that drawbacks."

Red XII chuckled lightly partly to himself. "Ah, the wonders of walking barefoot: makes the idea of shoes sound ridiculous."

Aeris disagreed. "We don't have as sturdy skin as you do, so while shoes sounds like a constriction to you they're protection to us. Look at the ground: any of these rocks would cut deep into our flesh, which is not exactly what we want."

The discussion spiralled further, ideas of footwear thrown back and forth as everyone stoked their own claim in the argument. Voices were raised, tempers flared, and the entire thing ended only when Cait Sith asked, "What are we arguing over?" The answer was so foolish in thought it shut everyone up.

Link was crunching away on some pastry when they reached North Corel. Quite pointedly Barret walked briskly, trying to reduce his exposure to his previous acquaintances. Everyone struggled to move his pace without obviously running.

The entire town was a dump. To Link, it looked liked someone had decided to pick an unwary civilisation as a test ground for nuking and this was chosen in the lottery. Everybody lived in tattered tents made of old fabrics held up by corrugated iron and steel. The ground was sandy and Link had to continuously shake his feet to sieve out the small shards of rusted metal from his sandals. Looking at the hard poverty everyone seemed to be living by, his pastry looked like a guilty luxury, as did his fine silk and polymerised clothing graciously lent by the Kisaragi House compared to the scraps stitched together the local populace wore.

Link was no stranger to poverty. For years he staggered around in it, and for decades he tried to remedy it. There were days when he gave his food to Saria and the fairies so that they will have the energy to inscribe the magical patterns into runes. There were times when lying on the ground, bleeding from a cheap shot from some distant assassin, it was the gargling of his stomach that reminded him he was still alive. Dead men got dissolved. Live men fought it.

Smiling to the grimy boy, who was trying to fish in the contaminated well, Link discreetly dropped a few silver pieces onto the ground for the kid to find later. Some people took charity the wrong way, and would rather give it back out of pride that use it for sustenance. As they waited for the blue shuttle to carry them over to the Gold Saucer he noted that as his good deed for the half millennia.

"I see no reason for your reluctance to enjoy the greetings of this town." Vincent said coolly, pointing to Barret. "They might not have the most hospitable services, but that's hardly a good reason."

Barret scowled. "It's none of yer business: just some trouble that happened a coupla years ago. It probably won't be fixed soon so I got no point to hang around."

Vincent raised his eyebrow. "Oh? What a convenient attitude. It's hard to believe this world's soon-to-be saviour took this approach to life." He smirked slightly as Barret's face started to go red. "Very convenient indeed."

"Listen you gangly punk-" Barret started, jumping off the bench. Tifa placed her hand on his arm, shaking her head. "Aw heck, you're not worth the effort. Don't know why we let you cap along."

As Link pondered whether there was such a phrase of 'cap along' the shuttle arrived and everyone boarded. Wisely Vincent kept his distance from Barret who was still fuming from the personal injury. Aeris quietly chided him for such unfeeling behaviour, but Vincent didn't seem to be paying attention. He followed this group to exact revenge on Hojo and Shinra, not cater to their demands.

Slowly the entertainment park's music grew in strength as the shuttle started to slow down. The entrance was an elaborate jaw not dissimilar to the giant moogle Cait Sith rode around on. After the shuttle screeched to a halt everyone disembarked, taking their time to adjust to the loud sounds.

Link stared strangely at the two people in chicken suits running around. What a peculiar welcoming party. "A big amusement park, this place is? I can see they're trying to amuse their guests from the first second. How degrading."

The giant moogle grabbed Cid's hand and raised it. Smiling in thanks Cait Sith checked his watch. "Well, the Battle Arena doesn't close in another four or so hours, and we aren't really pressed for time." Pausing in thought he let Cid yank his hand free before raising his finger in enlightenment. "I know! Let's show Vincent and Link the wonders of modern ingenuity of human entertainment! I bet you guys are dying to ride a motorcycle in a virtual speed chase or surf the arctic white sands in the grand game of snowboarding!"

"Not particularly, no."

Cloud coughed to gain attention. "Why don't we just head to the Battle Arena? Each hour we waste is an hour given to Sephiroth to crack the Temple of the Ancients." Red XIII nodded in agreement.

Red's addition to Cloud's argument was cut off by a loud fizzing and then an explosion behind them. Turning around, it appeared that, as the shuttle was about to leave one of the big chicken suit tail feathers got stuck in the gears. The man inside was screaming about the heat all the friction was applying to his backside while the woman attendant was screaming about how the shuttle will take time to repair.

"You moron! Nincompoop! Idiot! Do you know what this means for our business? There are people down there waiting for the ride up, and disappointing them might result in them turning away from the Gold Saucer forever!" She yelled at his face, shaking his suit and disregarding his tears on how his butt burnt. "If any of the customers trapped here complain about not being able to leave, it's coming out of your pay mister!"

Turning around she bowed to the group. "I'm sorry for this major inconvenience, but as you must have seen we are having technical difficulties with the shuttle. I apologise for any trouble this will cause and we will get our trouble-shooters to tackle this issue right away. Hopefully it will be fixed by tomorrow morning."

Cait Sith smiled kindly to her (as kind as a stuffed toy could achieve) and ushered the group to the main directory. "Well, like it or not, we're stuck here for a while. Why not enjoy ourselves? So, Sephiroth might have found the valuable time needed to crack a code or something, but there's nothing we can do about it."

Cloud didn't like it, but they ended up with a compromise: Cait Sith could show Vincent and Link around the place (Yuffie wanted to tag along as well) and the rest will go get the keystone. Splitting to jump down the appropriate tunnels, Cait Sith explained as much detail as he could about the Gold Saucer.

"The Gold Saucer," he started with dramatic flair, "was the idea of one genius: Konrad Sagare. He dreamed of a place where people could unwind and just entertain themselves with the joys of life and leave behind the worries that beset humanity everyday. It was a grand scheme and no city would dare support such a task, so Mr. Sagare built the city. And now, I welcome you to the golden disc of the sky."

Link personally found the games they gave too flashy or too boring. Cait Sith asked whether anyone was willing to pit their strength against a sumo arm wrestler, which Vincent declined on grounds that the sumo wrestler was left-handed and his claw would shred the man's arm apart. Link's real battle strength came from speed and his entire body being thrown behind each attack, so his arm alone wasn't very strong. Yuffie went up to the challenge. The sumo wrestler left a few minutes later nursing a badly twisted wrist.

Link was walking around ahead of the two, peering into the darkening sky to see the end of the roller coaster track. Whistling, he had to admit riding on that thing must be fun, providing you can keep your stomach.

"Hey Wutaian!"

Link stopped and turned around, checking whether Yuffie was nearby. Shrugging, he wondered who in this crowd could come from the western most continent. No one seemed to look the part.

"Blondie!"

Link tsked in disapproval. Whoever it was calling his Wutaian friend really needed to learn a few manners. For some reason Link found that people found great injury if you called them by distinct parts of their body. If he could remember right, one man dared call his companion 'chunker' and received a punch in return.

"Dope in green!" It dawned on Link that maybe this rude person was calling for him. Turning to the source, it was just some drunk punk with his mates. The larger the crowd, the less brains to go around.

"How may I be of service?" Link asked nicely, flicking his sight quickly to Cait Sith's lumbering moogle approaching slowly.

"Since when have ya been rich enough to enter?" The punk slurred, jabbing a rude finger at Link's chest. "I was pretty damned sure the war knocked you back to the stone age, where you belong."

Link frowned slightly. Yuffie, with her nationalistic pride, will not be happy hearing this. As she came closer he decided to keep the discussion short. "We're a resilient race. If you don't mind, I have to leave now."

The punk laughed at his back. "Turning around now, chicken? Tha's why ya lost – couldn't fight a damn, that's you. Your country stinks. I've been there: the food smells, the rooms smells, the people smell. A bunch of chickens that wallow in their droppings."

The punk's companions tried to hush him and warn him about insulting a guy with a sword, but the alcohol prevented reason from ticking. "I don't know what was in their minds when they busted you. Shoulda made you Wutaians slaves, tha's what. Useless scum you guys are, only worth the grovelling you do to all your lousy tourists."

Yuffie was in earshot when he made that remark. Her good mood from defeating a guy three times her weight vanished, replaced by patriotic fury. Striding to the foolish man that said it, she grabbed his collar and slammed him against the roller coaster's protective fence. "What did you say?" she snarled. "I better be hearing things wrong."

The man sneered at her. "Oh, now thems get their girlies to do their fighting. Hah! Like I said, you Wutaians are worth less than mud. Needless filth. Let me go, girlie, and return to being a beggar like your entire race is."

Link sighed deeply. Racism was truly a blight of humanity. Vincent stood calmly next to him, interested in how this miniature drama will play out. The punk's friends jeered at Yuffie, calling her names that curdled her blood.

"Oh, I can so easily throw you over this fence and onto the tracks," Yuffie hissed, lifting the punk off his feet, "and if you don't get electrocuted to death your gory end by being run over will satisfy me. Now, unless you want your life cut short, Take It Back."

Vincent clucked his tongue in approval. "She certainly has a way around men, doesn't she?" Disregarding Link's strange look, he chuckled at his joke. "I think she should stop shaking him now, it's adding to his problem of incontinence." At the punk's trousers a dark patch was blossoming.

No matter how wasted he was, a real death threat pierced through his happy fog to strike where it will mean most. By lifting him up and still keep him off the ground Yuffie proved she had the strength to carry out her words, and the outrage in her eyes showed that it will be no stain on her conscience to have him guttered. His mind suddenly flashed back to his trip in Wutai, when the tour guide mentioned that it took a soul of steel and strength of stone to wield the giant shuriken she had strapped on her back.

When he stuttered out his apologies, she tossed him into his friends. Disgusted, she placed her hands on her hips and stared at them eye to eye. "Anyone else have a problem about my origins?" None of them dared to make eye contact. Picking up their friend, they apologised too and walked off.

While Link found their views rather disappointing, what disheartened him the most was how the passer-bys walked around without giving the event another glance. Did they take such prejudices so callously? Were they so accepting of someone spouting off crude words about a race that didn't deserve it? Did some of them agree?

Yuffie wanted to retire early, her mood sour and her demeanour did not allow for the others to disagree. They walked towards the hotel where Cait Sith said he could get them free rooms, where she went to her room to brood in silence.

Link didn't know how they expected their guests to get a good night's sleep when the entire hotel was fashioned after a haunted theme, but they seemed to get enough guests to get by. Lying on the mucus green bedspread Link played the ocarina, reflecting on the times.

As the melody composed itself and flowed in one fluent stream, he thought about Navi. She stuck with him through the hardest of moments, yelling out advice at crucial moments and distracting his opponents when he needed a breather. Sure, she made a few mistakes, some of them grave in nature, but Link wouldn't have traded her for anyone or anything in the world. His eyes closed in memory as the tune drifted to Saria's 'Firefly's Grave'.

Link struggled through the brush, legs bleeding and arms scratched. His green tunic was ripped all over from the thorny plants, his hands split from shifting them aside to create a path.

Water. Link needed water. Floundering through the sharp vegetation, he blinked wearily as he waded towards the faint trickling sound he heard earlier on. Navi fluttered worriedly around him, constantly talking to make sure he never fell unconscious. Keep going, she reminded, you're nearly there.

It was not enough to keep him conscious. His small frame buckled from the loss of blood and dehydration. Crying softly in exhaustion it was all he could do to turn around as he fell, letting the battered Deku Shield take the brunt of all the spikes. Navi exclaimed in surprise, her flying straight down to Link's level to say her encouragements. Wake up, don't stop. You're nearly there.

_Link was too weary for that. Before his eyes glazed in fatigue, he managed to speak one word. Water._

_By the sun's position at least three hours had passed when Link woke up. Navi lay on his chest, sobbing in pain, but at sounds of him returning she banished it quickly to care for Link. It was not until a few days later when Navi told him what happened._

_When he collapsed, Navi panicked. She called for help, in as many languages as she knew, but in the middle of a forest of thorns, no one was around to answer. With no one to help Link, she had to help him herself. Taking his cap she flew at top speed to the trickling sound, arms burning in pain since she was not used to such strains. _

_It was a stream alright, and thankful to the Goddesses she dipped Link's cap in it. Its speed and the additional weight nearly swept her away, but with wings straining she fought it. Trembling Navi brought a weight twenty times her own back to Link, her small wings flapping until its buzz blocked out all sounds. Carefully pouring the water into Link's mouth and over his wounds, she repeated that another five times, flying the three kilometres there with aching muscles and the three kilometres back to keep Link alive_

_On the fifth return trip her wings gave way. Screaming in pain she plummeted into the sharp hedges, body bouncing off the thorns before landing on the hard ground. Navi's first concern was to make sure there was still water in Link's cap, and with her back muscles shredded from effort she had to walk the distance back. _

_At such a diminutive size it was like moving a mountain to bend the brush to drag the cap along unobstructed. Close to fainting herself, Navi managed to pull his cap now half empty to Link and pour it into his mouth, stroking his throat to make him swallow in small sips. It was all she could do, and any further strain will outright kill her, and she hoped that it was enough water to keep him alive._

_Link found out that for a few weeks she could not fly, and periodically sobbed from the pain. Link had to change his track back to the Kokiri Forest, and pleaded to Saria for help. If it was not for her medicines, Navi might have never been able use her limbs ever._

It was a great deal of sacrifice and injury on Navi's part, but it definitely kept Link alive. Navi said that was all the thanks she needed. For all the centuries they were together Link never forgot that moment though, and her dying to the disease ripped him from one of his true friends.

Link finished the song, the memories bringing a burning sensation to his eyes. Half an hour had passed and Cloud returned with the Keystone and called everyone to the hotel lounge. Link placed the ocarina back into its pouch before walking to the window and stared at the sky.

"Hey dear friend," he whispered to the stars that shyly crept into existence, "I wonder how many times I ever said thank you for all you've done for me. For Hyrule. For everyone. Not many, I presume." Smiling softly he drew the Firefly constellation with his finger. "Just to round up the tally board, thanks for everything." Turning around he departed from his room to see what Cloud called them up for.

Barret was reclining in a sofa, slightly bitter that Cid managed to grab the best chair. Red XIII rested on the carpet, Aeris sitting next to him and stroking his head. Vincent leaned on the wall and was flicking cards back and forth with Yuffie. Cait Sith stood next to Cloud who sat on a wooden stool.

"So, what's the deal?" Yuffie asked, her question costing her an Ace of Spades to the head. Rubbing the sore spot, she stuck a tongue out at Vincent.

"Well, we finally got the Keystone." Cloud answered. "I had to do a bit of bargaining with Dio to get it, but we allowed us to borrow it. We'll have to return it after a month though."

Cid snorted. "Bargaining? The most _you_ did was swinging that sword like mad. I had to convince him that if we didn't get the Keystone, it won't be monster heads you'll be chopping off."

"Forgive me of ignorance, but could someone explain to me why we need that Keystone?" Vincent asked.

"We might as well have a recap on what's going on." Aeris agreed. "It's better if everyone knows what we're fighting for."

"Well, it's to do with the Black Materia." Cloud started. "Sephiroth is after that to pretty much destroy the world, and we have to get the Black Materia before he does." Pausing in recollection he added, "The Temple of the Ancients houses the Black Materia apparently, and this will be what unlocks it."

A few stared in incomprehension, so Aeris took over. "Since we have quite a lot of time on our hands, I guess I can give a more detailed explanation. From what Sephiroth said when we met him, the whole thing starts with the Ancients, the Cetra."

"I've heard of that word before," Barret mused, "it's… a disease, right? Some nasty infection, I think."

Link chuckled. Nine parts wrong, but unfortunately one part right. "No, they were a nomadic race. They travelled from planet to planet, and were unlucky enough to be here when I visited." Link corrected. "Many died from Jenova's sickness."

"Right. Well, the Cetra were the first magic users on this planet, and they created the Materia that we use today. One Materia they made is the Black Materia, which does massive destruction. They hid it inside a maze in the Temple of the Ancients, fearing that physically destroying it might be a bad idea. Well, Sephiroth is presently on a run around in search of ultimate power to defeat the heathens that lived where the Ancients died. By injuring the Planet, it will heal itself by filling the injury with a lot of energy. Sephiroth said that standing in the crater and absorbing the energy will make him all powerful." Aeris sighed. "I doubt it."

Barret scratched his head. "I've heard all this before, but I still don't get it."

Cloud waved his head in dismissal. "The story doesn't matter too much. All we have to know is that Sephiroth must be stopped."

Red XIII nodded. "It is strange though. You guys have seen the strange black caped men in Nibelheim: they have a number tattooed on them." He gestured to his shoulder. "Sephiroth has a number 1 and I have 13. Those men had numbers in between."

"It's possible that Hojo is involved in all this." Aeris said. "He's the one that branded you with that number, right? Maybe Sephiroth is related to Hojo in some way. A test specimen run amok, or something."

As everyone contemplated what that meant, Vincent voiced his thoughts after gazing at everyone. "You guys seem very willing to join this group. Now that I think about it, you guys were very willing to accept me, even though I was partly delusional. Will anyone care to lobby an explanation?"

Tifa scratched her head. "Well, Barret and I were the original members of Avalanche. Cloud joined after being hired as a mercenary to help target one of the Mako Reactors, and Red XIII because we freed him and had a way to Cosmo Canyon. Aeris helped Cloud and joined that way. I can't remember why Yuffie joined at all, and I think Cait Sith just tagged along when we met him in Gold Saucer. Link had experiences with Jenova." She shrugged. "Truth be told, I don't really know why we're all here."

"A common goal, perhaps." Aeris said. "We don't want to see our Planet destroyed. It might not be what brought us together, but it could be what's keeping us from falling apart."

"Why did you associate yourself with this group?" Vincent inclined his head towards Cait Sith. "I scramble my head for why a cotton raffle machine will care for what happens outside this place, and I find no reason."

"Hmm, ah… Personal reasons. Everyone works for the good of mankind, no?"

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure."

Aeris yawned from exhaustion, waving to the rest with the message 'I'm off'. Many of the others quickly followed suit, mumbling about never getting a good night's rest. Link, Red XIII and Tifa remained in the room.

"A Planet destroyed…" Link repeated softly, chuckling lightly. "I can think of a cheaper way to destroy a planet."

"Oh? What's your idea?" Red XIII asked.

"You guys should be know the geography of your country pretty well. You would have noticed that at the North the land is pretty much a layer of snow and ice."

Tifa nodded. "That's due to the tilt of the Planet though. The north doesn't get as much sunlight as everywhere else."

Link smiled. Ah, the little they knew. "However, the South is normal. Not a patch of snow to be seen." Once he got their interests, he pondered whether he should tell them this story. "Those hundred years ago, when I arrived on this Planet, it was a jungle of savannah. Every corner was a swamp or rainforest.

"Then came the battle with Jenova. Once I tracked her back to this Planet, we planned where she was heading and the Cetra helped me set a trap to catch her. It just conveniently was in the Northern hemisphere."

Link sighed. "The Black Ice… I was crazy to have invented it. Then again, Jenova knew me too well, and grew immunity to the White Fire." Link smiled lightly. "I guess you guys can imagine its power. Over four hundred years on, the magic still lingers in the North. You guys will have to wait for it to start melting."

"Ouch." Tifa muttered. "Didn't know you could do that. What did it do?"

"Draw in energy. Warmth and light, I would draw all of it in. The spell would let me leech every iota of energy within a given radius and freeze anything in its grasp. I would then release all that energy as inverted magic, which once striking the target would spread out like a cloud of frost." Link tapped his chin in thought. "It worked at least. It would have worked longer if no one thought about digging Jenova out and adding a bit of her essence to people."

Red XIII stared at the number on his shoulder. "A test experiment runs amok… Do you think I'm going to lose it soon?" His head drooped at the thought. Tifa tried to soothe him.

Link was not so good at giving emotional aid. Leaving Tifa to work her own magics, he departed for the roof, enjoying his position of staring at the stars. Instinctively he pulled out the ocarina and played a random tune, slowly morphing it into the Nocturne of Shadow to match the intended ambiance of the place. Gazing into the heavens he was cast from, his mind quickly settled to the earlier times.

_"Your magic doesn't scare me," Saria smirked, shrinking from Jenova into the form Link remembered the most, "I know you: will you strike your best friend?"_

_The Cetra stood a distance off, creating a defensive ring around the pair. At Link's signal they were to flood the area with as much magic as they could muster, and then contain Jenova. Many shivered at that thought._

_"Saria," Link whispered sadly, shaking his head, "has died. You are not my friend. You are not Saria." Arms shivering from the cold he was creating, he drew his sword. "You have done too much. You must pay for it."_

_Jenova laughed cruelly, eyes narrowing. "I did too much? Oh, how I laugh! It was YOU, you despicable fool! YOU started it all! YOU brought us to this wretched place! And you dare say I did too much?" Green magic whirled around her, whispering cries from the dead she drained it from. The lifestream, already poisoned by her, churned as it tried to bend around her form._

_Link sighed. "Enough talk. Goodbye, Saria." His fingers clenched the sword tightly, and after looking at the beginning of the drizzle he charged, shield warmed by his magic and sword gleaming from the cold._

_With sharp crack Jenova's form exploded forwards, the tiny frame shattering to reveal her true monstrosity. Her skin glittered with unholy magic, and pale faces darted across it, silent screams of help and revenge plastered on their mouths. The Cetra sweated as they concentrated, pulling the magic away from the ring to give her nothing to feed upon._

_"You think you can strike me?" She bellowed, lightning crackling around her fist as she smashed Link aside. "Where I have grown stronger, you've dwindled to nothing! You're pathetic!"_

_Link rolled to avoid the bolts of red lightning that struck the earth, hastily getting to his feet. "You'll be in for a surprise," he muttered to himself. The drizzle grew into a true rainstorm, the waves of water blanketing the Cetra from view._

_"Can you remember Hyrule, Saria?" Link yelled above the torrent of water, using it to creep towards her while she could not see him. "The forests and rivers? The Kokiri we once were? Can you remember the Great Deku Tree and his annual blessings?" _

_Jenova faltered for a moment before laughing in derision. She turned suddenly, releasing a chain of fire where Link was. "Fool! You think I need eyes to see? Every living thing glows with magic, and with my senses you stand out like a firefly! A bug to be crushed!"_

_"Can you remember Shael and Navi? They were good friends, weren't they? Can you remember when we used to play centuries ago?" Link pulled out his hookshot, targeting her chest. A strike to the heart will not kill her, but it will prevent her from flinging around magic like mad. "The memories are dim now, but the feelings stay strong."_

_Jenova covered her body with lightning, sending it down the metal chain to strike Link. He released his tool with a scream of surprise, landing on the frosty ground smoking. He hopped back quickly, deciding to fight magic with magic._

_"This sickness that caused all of this – my magic failed me, my memory started faltering. Events are now blurred, but I remember what it did to you." Link half laughed half sobbed, sending a small pulse of his faint magic to the Cetra. "It ruined your mind. Those memories I talked about, you don't care."_

_"And what are you trying to get at?" Jenova said haughtily, plucking a strangled soul she stored to fuel her water magic. It folded around Link, the barrier of Nayru's Love built up by the influx of magic. Jenova gave a curious glance to the Cetra surrounding them. They were planning something._

_"It made you into a primitive being. Kill or be killed. Find the strength to be on the top, or be dominated in turn. It wrecked you worse than it injured me." Link started sweating to hold the barrier up. "Death would have been kinder to both of us. So you sought power. You struck anyone that had it, took it for yourself, and went searching for more. Now look at you: bloated with the energies of others."_

_It was time. Link's magic was known to Jenova, who once had fought alongside it before. She knew when he was planning a big spell. "Your attempts are foolish! The White Fire doesn't work on me!"_

_Link frowned sadly. "The White Fire doesn't. The Black Ice does."_

Link was jolted out of his reverie by the voiced beneath. Removing the ocarina from his lips, after stretching his back muscles Link peered down. What were those two doing out so late? Seeing the slight dance in her step, Link chuckled lightly to himself.

Youths these days… Might as well poke a little fun at them.

-

A/N: And voila, the chapter has been completed. I can't remember my average update time, but I think this one was pretty long. If it was, I do apologise. I intend to keep the content level around 6K words to keep the quality level up.

For those of you who played FF7, you should know partly how things turn out. For those few, who never did, enjoy. Oh yeah, if any one of my readers is not getting a bit of this story, can he or she kindly criticise where I need to explain further? I personally think I'm relying too much on my readers' knowledge on FF7, so if anyone can offer constructive criticisms it would be helpful.

Just watched a British show The Apprentice. Pretty funny – a bunch of men beat a bunch of women at selling flowers. I wonder what that means.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A meteor. A meteor was doomed to crash into the present planet, and obliterate everything. Stuck in their petty feuds and needless wars, the people Xe'Nedra didn't realise its existence until it was too late for them to do anything about it.

_And that was where Link, Saria, Navi and Shael came in. Arriving as a heated glowing sphere from Link's improvised Nayru's Love and landing silently onto the lush lands, they were taken as harbingers of hope. The gift the Heavens had gave the Xe'Nedra in answer to their calls of mercy. _

_They were powerful people: compared to the hundreds of planets Saria saw before, these were more in touch with the Planet. Everyone could hear the soft whispers of the earth, speak to the spirits of the skies and harness the might of the life of the plants. In their turmoil, pitching nature against nature, they grew in their power and yet managed to cure the Planet. Yet their wars had pushed the groaning of the Planet unheard, not listening to its warnings, its desperate pleas. When they finally did, the meteor was too close for their power to even nudge._

_It wasn't your usual extinction-causing meteor, they assured Link. If it was just something that would have kicked up enough dust to blot out the sun, they could have marked their life essence into the flow of the Planet so when evolution grew again, they will be reborn. The meteor was larger than that. It would not raise waves or splinter earth, crack the sky and suffocate life: it would do much worse. It would punch a hole right through the centre of the Planet, reducing it into dust._

_Standing on the hilltop under the night sky, it was hard to believe that the glowing comet would send the world back into the first steps of creation. All right, Link conceded, it did look unnaturally large for a comet, and with each hour that past its light steadily blinded out the glows of the surrounding stars. The mathematicians figured that the meteor was travelling at half the speed of light, so there will only be tonight to stop it. _

_They spent two expensive hours contemplating how to stop it. Link never tried mass teleportation before, so it was too much of a risk to waste time and energy trying to shift something so large and far away. There was no life on it, so Saria could not call on the forest spirits to slow it down. It would be sheer folly to try and shield the planet. What was left was to hope beyond hope that they could burn it away._

_"Vrei stella tolst quilina?" /Do you remember what to do/ Saria double-checked, reviewing all the items they were given as help. The Xe'Nedra gave everything they could: magic amplifiers, condensers and focuses. Surrounding the four was a ring of special stone that would draw up the natural power of the planet for their disposal._

_"Vesq'ua. Se jenova." /Sorry. I've forgotten./ Link said relaxed. His cool demeanour faded away at Saria and Shael's angry glare and Navi's disapproving one. "Peira, peira, sei vein quist." /Relax, relax, I was just joking./ He said to placate them, pointing to the meteor. "Vri sto'r fertu, se plinti le Kare Krond hir takt." /At your command, I throw the White Fire at that/ The 'that' in question was a rather innocent looking rock. What it would do is allow the fairies to safely handle the dangerous amounts of magic and launch it with Saria's navigation at the comet. If it didn't melt._

_Nodding in confirmation, she inclined her head to gaze at the meteor. For a while there was trepid silence, the Xe'Nedra from the distance wondering what was going on. Never removing her gaze from the meteor, she started chanting softly; whispers so quiet she could hardly hear them. The green of untapped magic slowly coalesced around her, drifting from the trees, the soil, the clouds. Swirling in soothing eddies they curled into her cupped hands, silently hearing her message, reading her orders, and obeying._

_Navi__ and Shael started dancing in an intricate pattern, the weaves of fey magic casting her gaze closer to the meteor, homing it in. The pattern slowly shifted into a web of magnification, a transparent lens hovering above the rocks as magic pulsed through. For what seemed like eternity they weaved and bobbed, tying the detailed knots that negated failure, drawing the Stream to swarm around them. With a glittering spiral they finished circling above Saria._

_It was a small shift in her foot, but that was the signal for Link. Frowning in a moment of distaste he gulped down the green viscous liquid that will clear his mind and stimulate his reserves. Inhaling the magic that flowed around him, his mind concentrated on the image of a candle flame. Focusing himself on that thought, Link laced his magic into the necessary pattern, nervously thumbing the rosary in his hand._

_It was ready. This spell would either save them, or condemn them. Opening his eyes, the fury of the fires churned in his irises. "Kare Krond." /White Fire./ The air snapped from the sudden heat, and instantly the fairies tried to stabilise the stone._

_With a gesture from Saria his magic was forced upwards. The light from the infernal spire blinded the watching Xe'Nedra, but she could not afford to take her eyes from the meteor. The stone shivered and glowed from all the magic it was taking hold of, but she could not let it stop. For a chance of survival, it had to hold. _

_It could have lasted for eternity, yet eternity wasn't long enough. The spire ended in a furious cataclysm of light and sound as the stone shattered. Snaking up into the sky and beyond into space, everyone hoped it would save the Planet from obliteration._

_Her mind trained on the meteor, everyone watched Saria for the signs of success or failure. Sweat beaded her forehead. Signs of strain were apparent. Her hands shifted as she guided the dragon of fire. As the seconds ticked painfully, she suddenly fell down, eyes snapping shut from the need of moisture._

_Even with his reserves beyond empty, Link rushed over to help her from the ground, gently raising her back up. Worriedly checking her face, his gratitude was apparent when she opened her eyes again. Never before had they used such a large surge of magic._

_Her blue eyes were distant from exhaustion, but Link could see the small glimmer of joy in them. Smiling back at her, he stroked her hair soothingly as Navi and Shael settled on his shoulders. Never before was the message of success so celebrated, and as the festivities lasted even past when they left six months later, never again will the tired nod be rejoiced with such passion._

_-_

Above the protective glass that made the ceiling of the Gold Saucer the stars shone, twinkling in intrigued mirth. Cloud had never in his memory been pushed around much, and yet a girl now was dragging him without hearing his opinion.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Aeris said smiling, leading him out of the hotel. As his voiced doubts were brushed aside, a shadow flittered behind them. Crouched behind one of the fake tombstones, they didn't see Link's hidden body.

"Yeah, but don't we have more important things to deal with?" Cloud mumbled his protest, feeling naked without his sword on his back. "We're still hunting down on Sephiroth, aren't we?"

"Of course we are," Aeris answered cheerfully, "but while the others get some rest, we can enjoy ourselves, can't we? Don't we deserve a break?"

Cloud had no reply for that, so chose to stare at the sky through the fogging glass. At the altitudes they were in the air stayed at a chill, but he could still see the glimmer through. With his eyes painted to the ceiling and Aeris humming cheerfully, neither saw Link's face as he scuttled across behind them.

A small band of musicians played in the main square, a man singing an old Italian song. Upon spotting the two he smiled broadly. "Tonight," he announced with grandiose flair, moustache fluttering from the movement, "is Enchantment Night. I welcome you to the Gold Saucer. Please enjoy yourselves: tonight only everything is free." He resumed his singing, moulding his voice to the flow of the instruments behind him.

Aeris marvelled at the coincidence while Cloud muttered about cheapskate methods of apologising. His rant of how few customers were still around in the middle of the night silenced Link's footsteps. The singer raised an eyebrow at Link's frantic waving and finger to his lips, but resumed singing. Picking a tunnel at random, Aeris dragged Cloud off to the Event Square.

"Aren't they cute?" Link said to the singer. "Don't see that very often anymore."

The singer nodded in agreement. "Yes, the innocence of youth." He ignored Link's snort at that comment. "And you are her guardian? I don't see much family resemblance."

Link shook his head, smiling. "No, just the annoying third party member. Well, I got to go if I want to keep up. Thanks for not giving away my position." Flicking a coin over, he darted off to see what they were up to.

When he reached the Event Square Aeris and Cloud were already entering, declared the 100th couple and so allowed to play the key roles. Pausing for a second Link strode casually along, hoping the announcer wouldn't notice you.

"Welcome, you're the one hundred and first co- oh, you're on your own, eh? No luck with the ladies today, eh?" The announcer clucked in disapproval. "You got to learn the tricks of the trade, man. Having long hair for a start is a big no-no."

Link checked a strand of his hair, shrugging. "Things are good the way they are. Nah, I'm just tagging along. Don't mind me." He was about to stride in except for the announcer stepping into his way, fumbling with some sheets.

"Hold on a sec, we've got stuff for people like you." Link sweated slightly, wondering whether the Gold Saucer had a jail. Smiling in success the announcer pulled out a rather ruffled sheet, and proclaimed, "Welcome, you're the four hundred and seventy second stalker of the night, and so you get to play one of the major parts. The only available part is as the dragon." Dropping his voice into a low whisper, he added, "Women dig men in suits. If you want, I could do a bit of tweaking and give you the knight's armour instead – it might be a good luck charm." Link left him to his suggestive cackles.

Before he could do any scouting for Aeris and Cloud – he dimly wondered why he was doing this; maybe it was for the rush of stalking – a man with a headset yanked him aside, yelling into the microphone that they had their dragon.

"Four hundred and seventy two, eh? Truth be told, I think they just randomly pick any odd number and get a guy to fill it in." He bustled Link through the stage background, casually kicking the stage equipment out of his way. Darting away, he returned with a heavy bundle of green cloth. "There's your suit. We gave you a bit of cushioning inside since you're meant to be pushed around a bit, so forgive us if you start sweating." Without letting Link get a word in he departed, yelling down his microphone about broken lamps.

Someone slapped a script into Link's face, and in the four seconds he was given to read it all he could understand was he was meant to be punched, beaten and letting a camouflaged boxing bag fall on him. He was given six seconds after that to get into the suit before being shoved on stage.

Cloud was giving some dazed speech of fighting the dragon, and was conferring with the guy in the knight suit and a guy in some blue robe. Stepping on stage, his suit gave a sudden spray of a foul smelling liquid to get him coughing. A hidden microphone amplified on that and distorted it into a roar.

"Lousy scumbags, I'm going to rip them apart!" Link growled. The microphone picked that up too. While the stage crew prepared for emergency evacuation, the actors thought it was part of his script.

"The Evil Dragon King has arrived!" The blue robed man proclaimed in mock horror. "Great saviour, save us from his evil grasp, lest the Princess doth get eaten!" A hook on invisible wire swung out suddenly, grabbing the nape of Aeris' dress and swinging her into Link's arms. Cloud scratched his head.

"I hate acting…" he muttered beneath his breath before saying out loud, "Ah, but I need an accomplice! Someone must test his strengths!" Extending a hand, he pointed to the blue robed man, before changing his mind and looking at the knight. "You: go knock yourself silly."

Hesitantly the knight nodded, drawing his plastic sword to charge at Link. Despite having Aeris held in his hands, it was an easy matter of extending his foot and tripping the guy. Poor guy.

Cloud shrugged. "Alas, he has fallen! I need yet another man to test his strength! Mighty mage-" Given how he seemed to want to expend all the other characters first, it wasn't so surprising Aeris got angry.

Wrenching herself free, she stormed up to the mage – so that's why he wore a blue robe; stars are way to cliché – slapped him in the face before turning around to kick Link in the stomach. His oomph was twisted into a cry of pain.

Taking off the dragon head, Link decided to crawl out even though the play didn't end yet. He didn't sign up for this anyway. Looking up he quickly skipped aside as the camouflaged boxing bag fell onto his suit. "I definitely didn't sign up for this." Kicking the bag, he looked up to see Aeris and Cloud's stunned faces.

"What are you doing here?" Aeris asked. She suddenly looked suspicious. "You weren't spying on us by any chance, were you?"

Ha. Me? No, of course not. I'm too moral for that. I was stalking. "Not really… Yes, I was." He admitted. "But please, do go on as usual. Don't mind me."

Someone in the crowd whooped and called to see more drama. A bare flick of Aeris' wrist sent the man crab-walking away in search of a toilet. Cloud looked a bit hopeful. "So we can go back now?"

She sighed, contemplating Link's existence. "Well, it can't be a date anymore with him. We might as well just enjoy the free night then." Frowning petulantly she led Cloud away, nodding for Link to follow.

Well, he didn't mean to spoil their date. The most interference he wanted to accomplish was dark chuckles seconds before they became intimate. Ah yes, he remembered how he used to spy on young lords who knew nothing of the world…

Navi never approved of what he was doing, saying that everything should take its own course. Thinking on hindsight, despite all her disapproval, she hanged around when he aimed the blowpipe and tried to mask her laughing behind a frown when they chose to scarper for it. She never ratted on him either – maybe because no one would have believed her. Link himself would have found it hard to believe it when the hired fortress assassin enjoyed clinging to the ceiling with his toes only to shoot pebbles at people in love. Saria found it all very amusing. She herself created the tinctures for him to dip the pebbles in; said that the pheromones and scent-stuff made people find each other more attractive. Link thought that a woman falling into a man's arms was chemistry enough.

In his memories of using blowpipes in the corners of ceilings to give uncertain couples the right nudge he didn't see Aeris lead them off to the Ferris wheel. A few people were walking out, but they seemed to be the only three walking in. The attendant peered at the dwindling crowd before shrugging. "Meh, so few customers. Might as well cut the speed down." Without asking them, he shepherded them into one of the carriages, slammed the door and flicking the speed gauge cross his legs for a nap. It'll be half an hour before they started returning.

The scenery of the Gold Saucer was captivating, but in silence the glowing lights and twinkling lamps soon lost their interest. It was a fairly large carriage, and Cloud seemed to be plastering himself to one corner while Aeris leaned on him. Link sat amused on the other bench, watching Cloud's desperate plea for help.

Imagine: a guy who could shred stone into confetti was afraid of a girl. Well, woman maybe – Link didn't know anyone's ages. "So, how did you two meet?" He asked, deciding to help. "Escaping an exploding building? Falling from the sky? In the thick of heavy fighting?"

Cloud looked dimly surprised and muttered something about psychics. "Sort of all three, in different times," he answered, delicately trying to move Aeris away, "but I guess mainly the second."

"They say a man has better spatial awareness than a woman," Aeris piped suddenly, smiling at Cloud, "but if I remember right you kept dropping the barrels on me instead of the soldiers." He grumbled about them always moving.

Barrels? Eh? Better not ask: the life of a warrior is fraught with peril, but the life of endearment with plain weird. He dimly remembered a saying of the late Great Deku Tree – they say that the Tree was eternal, but now was he still alive? – something about romance. Whatever it was, it sounded like it wasn't worth it. 'A kiss of heaven in the grasp of hell'. Whatever that meant.

"How about you, Link?" Aeris asked sweetly, "Did you have anyone you felt attached to?"

Death. His tool, his wife, his bane. Link married combat and flirted with war. "No one I can remember." Link scratched his head thoughtfully.

"How about that Saria person? You can't have stayed with her so long wit-" Cloud was cut short as Aeris jabbed him in the ribs. Realising his mistake, he mumbled out a muffled sorry. He forgot that Jenova was Saria.

Link waved the apology off. "Its alright, the good times… were good times. I was willing to live the rest of my life with her, if that's want you mean." Link said in response. "Though I don't think that's what you mean. It was more like a family type relationship. She was a child, and I her protector."

For a few minutes they stayed in silence as the carriage creaked its way to its apex. Aeris was quietly chiding Cloud but didn't seem to mind snuggling against him. Link had spent a few moments smiling at her mild forwardness before returning his gaze to the window, wondering whether it was safe for the conductor to fall asleep.

The Kokiri Forest: that was what it was called. Link closed his eyes in recollection. He was born there, or at least he thought he was. Massaging his temples to egg his memory on, Link tried to remember at what age he left. Definitely before twelve. Maybe twelve itself? Possibly eleven. Why did he even leave? One reason was because of Saria's perceptiveness: where most Kokiri were locked in the age of ten or so, he seemed to still be growing. It was too little to be noticed by others, but enough to for Saria to pinpoint it as something other than being standard deviation. Another reason he guess was that when the Great Deku Tree died, everyone blamed him.

Thinking about it, he didn't need the Deku Tree Sprout to tell him he was not a Kokiri. Any Kokiri that dared to leave the forest would be punished by death, the magic sustaining their youth and existence no longer granting its protection. And yet Link survived. He survived the Woods that claimed the sanity and soul of those who entered, and he survived the world that threatened mind and body for those who left. Navi never said anything about it, but she probably knew it too.

"What was your Planet like?" Cloud asked. "Was it anything like ours?"

Link mulled it over in his head. "That will be a bit hard to say. My Planet had special gateways to enter other realms of possible existences, so I never saw it fully. Unnatural mists, deserts and swamps surrounded Hyrule, my country, so no one managed to explore further than the boundaries." Link remembered trying once. He managed to walk at least fifty kilometres east of Death Mountain, before the humid heat forced him to give up and turn around. If it weren't for Navi he would have been lost in the endless mists. "Hyrule was pretty small, holding mainly seven settlements. The weather somehow managed to range from one extreme to the other though."

"It must have been a nice place." Aeris said. "If it wasn't so large, the feeling of community must have been pretty strong."

Oh, how Link wanted to disagree. Supporting six main races, tension and suspicion of each other made them very wary of creating anything more than a trading truce. The Gerudo will kill any intruder in their lands, the Gorons wished isolation from the rest of the country and the Hylians all too happy to resort to conquest. "There were some good places," Link managed to say, "especially the Ranch in the middle of the country. When I was last there, it expanded into a trading post. LonLon Ranch it was called. The farmer's daughter was a good singer."

Aeris perked at the mention of a woman in Link's life. He wouldn't her mentioned it unless she was quite significant to him. "How did you meet with her? What was her name?" she coaxed on.

"Her name?" Link's face took a moment of confusion. "I know her name… it had something to do with the Ranch's name. I remember I was young when I met her." Link sighed as he racked his brains for the memory. "My apologies, but all these years haven't helped my memory much."

"It's alright. What do you remember of her?"

"… She lent me a horse. One of the fastest, one of her friends. I never questioned why she was willing to make such a sacrifice. The horse fell to a wolf pack when we were resting. She never spoke to me after that." An image slowly formed in Link's mind. Red hair dirty and cheeks moist, a woman screaming at him to leave and never return. Crying how he took her friend for granted, how little he cared. Her father – when was he going to start remembering names! – assured him that her temper will cool after a few days. It never did.

The sorrow must have reflected in his eyes, for Aeris stopped asking any more questions. She softly whispered to Cloud, but soon left the carriage in silence.

Emotions were easier to remember than facts. Link knew he had felt angry with her. How dare she accuse him of killing her horse? It wasn't his fault! But seeing her break into tears and dash away when she saw him slowly reduced that feeling into guilt. He might as well have left her sister to death for all the damage he did. After a few visits he stopped visiting.

He seemed to bring anguish wherever he went. After helping serve as the Hero of Time, instead of saving he destroyed. As Sworn Brothers the Goron leader – Darmania? Darunia? – had ran to his aid, searching for a special flower to cure the rare illness that plagued Link for weeks. In ended bitterly with the Goron managing to find the flower, but succumbing to the sickness himself. The Gorons understood, but their eyes burned with the injustice.

He tried to teach a few kids interested in his fighting style how to build a tree house. One accidentally rammed a long nail through his hand in its construction, and another fell out, breaking his neck when it was finally made. The parents blamed him.

He helped clear the Shadow Temple of the remaining beasts that lurked within its illusions. Sword drenched in the blood of dark malignity, it soon hummed with its own potent evil that drove the wielder on a rampage of murder. Unwittingly he turned normal citizens into monsters, for not even death of the wielder stopped the massacre, held in life, held in undeath. Only taking away the sword. And he, who took it, became mad in turn. The Sheikah had banned him from ever coming close again.

And what did Link do? He decided to stay with the Kokiri, naively believing that would quarantine all the damage he was doing. All it did was focus it onto individuals close to his heart. Navi died of a sickness created by years of mutation trying to defeat his immune system. That same disease warped Saria's mind, turning her into Jenova. Jenova in turn wrecked the land of the Cetra.

If only he could die… Suicide was a coward's way out, but no one on the battlefield ever managed to scratch him. When the White Fire went awry when he tried to burn it out of his mind, part of him hoped that it just might be enough to kill him.

The carriage returned back to ground level, doors automatically opening as a speaker ushered them out, wishing a pleasant day. Aeris tugged at Cloud, asking whether he would take her on another date next time. Hesitantly he agreed, eliciting a light kiss from her. Blushing he stared as she waltzed away, forgetting Link was there.

"I can almost see the children," Link chuckled, receiving a wide-eyed stare from Cloud, "little Clouds waving sticks around, little Aeris' setting curtains on fire. I'm putting my bet on six." No point mourning the past in front of others.

Cloud grabbed Link by the lapels of his gear and in a soft, dangerous voice made him swear not to mention that again. Receiving the answer he wanted Cloud stalked away, muttering about know-all ancients.

Glancing at the sky, it seemed to late for Link to bother with any sleep. Pacing around the Gold Saucer, he was surprised to find Tifa and Yuffie crouched over a fountain watching the fish. Approaching quietly, he crouched down next to them, taking time to admire the dull reflection of the blossoming sky on the rippled waters.

"A strange day, isn't it? Night seems a lot shorter than eleven hours here. More like four." Yuffie said, skimming the water with her finger.

Link nodded. "Tilt of the axis and stuff. What brings you two out here?"

"I was looking for Cloud earlier, but couldn't find him." Tifa sighed disappointed. "I found Yuffie wandering around instead." The fish didn't seem that afraid of human touch, letting her brush their scales gently.

"He went out with Aeris roughly two hours ago. Cloud might disagree, but I'm still betting on six. He returned just ten minutes earlier." Link suddenly remembered what Cloud threatened to do, but what was done was done. He didn't see Tifa or Yuffie bristle at the news. Or how they contemplated what he meant by 'six'.

Yuffie expelled what sounded like a defeated sigh, standing up to let blood run through her legs again. "A pity; nothing can be done about it now. Why are you up Link?" Tifa stood up as well, trying to shake the cramps out.

"Jetlag is one reason. Spying another." Puffing his hair away from his face, he gave them a secretive smile. "Would anyone care to walk with me? You can still get an hour sleep if you want to though."

Tifa shrugged. "Since I'm already up, there's no point going to sleep again." Yuffie nodded in agreement.

Walking around as dawn crept across the skies, there were few visitors around and fewer workers. The singer and his band packed up and left, and the Ferris wheel conductor decided to catch his remaining sleep in the comforts of a bed. In the quiet, it was not too hard to pick up the silenced motor of a helicopter. It was not any harder to hear two voices talking, one suspiciously familiar.

"…keep up the work, we need more information…"

"Sure, sure… It's further down south, right?" Almost mewling, inhuman voice… Link knew it from somewhere.

"Yes, global coordinate of -55+34. Will you be there?"

"That, is a secret." Link heard that before. His mouth twisted into a snarl as some of the pieces clicked together. If the mind was not in the body, it had to be somewhere with technology great enough to support it.

Turning around the corner, Yuffie blurted out her surprise. "Cait Sith!"

The animated cat turned to look at them, before throwing a dark object to the man in the helicopter. As it sped off, he shook his head and waited for the three to reach him. The stitching seemed contorted in an expression of… regret?

"What the hell are you doing talking with a Turk, behind our backs besides?" Yuffie demanded, squarely facing him as he tried to turn in search of an escape.

"Traitor." Link growled quietly. "Spy." Link hated those who played the game of lies. Believers of a different cause, they would mock your own ideals by pretending to live by it. Those that deceived, those that lied. Link hated them.

Cait Sith raised his hands defensively. "Hey now, I'll admit to being a spy, but I never was a traitor." Tifa cracked her knuckles menacingly, ready to shove him off the platform. "Being around you, I find your ideas very interesting. You've shown a new light to my perspective."

"Uh huh. And I'll show you a new view of the ground." Yuffie snarled, fingers clenching sporadically. "And a new feel of pain."

"You got to believe me! Believe in my beliefs in you all!" Cait Sith protested as the two girls closed in on him, slowly shuffling him off the ledge. "I've seen what you guys have done, and I believe- I know that what you're doing is right!" Link glared from behind, once warm and sympathetic eyes becoming hard, icy orbs.

"Why should we? You break our trust once; you'll break it again. Life will be so much easier if we break you." Miraculously all the shouting hadn't drawn anyone close, leaving the sharp words to echo across the glossed walls. Each echo became colder and harsher, distilling out the pleasantries of voice and intention.

The stuffed cat seemed to find an advantage in what she said. "I'm just made out of conducting wool and fabric. You could destroy this body, but there's nothing stopping Shinra from putting together another one and bringing it back over." Cait Sith paused before nodding, agreeing to his words. "Now, if we just calm down and talk things through I'm sure we can come to some deal-"

"Enough!" Link shouted suddenly, surprising not only Cait Sith but the Tifa and Yuffie as well. Usually seen in moments of passive amusement, calm seriousness or quiet depression, they never heard him angry. What they saw frightened them somewhat. "No bartering! We'll just have to rip every bit of you every time we even hear your footsteps! And you better pray to the Heavens that we never find you ourselves!"

The ninja outfit Link wore was built mainly for ease of motion and disguise, but had areas loose and folded for concealment. Only Yuffie wasn't surprised when a knife flashed into his hands, the blade as long as from his wrist to elbow.

"I can offer protection!" Cait Sith blurted as Link flicked the blade experimentally. "Barret's child, Marlene! I can keep her safe! Shinra has her, but she'll be alright!" Tifa tugged at Link's elbow, shaking her head worriedly. He halted his advancement, but still held the weapon menacingly.

"What do you mean?" Tifa queried, worry evident in her expression, "Is she in any danger?"

Cait Sith fumbled around with his waist area. "Perhaps this might answer your question." With a small click, the soft crackling of recording came on, quickly followed by a small girl's voice. " 'Lo there, this is Marlene. How're you doing, papa? These tux-men are taking good care of me. They said that if I'm a good girl, you'll appoof – apprieve – be happy. Come back soon, all the greys and whites of my room get boring.'" A masculine voice drawled out whether she was done, and with a snap the recording ended. Cait Sith looked measuring at the three.

"You slimy, dirty grit of scum," Yuffie growled, an identical knife to Link's appearing in her hands, "wretched piece of filth! Blackmail! With a kid, no less! A kid!" She lunged out, the point just a few centimetres from the stuffed Moogle's cranium before Tifa managed to pull her back. Caught in her anger, she dropped the knife, hands swinging in an attempt to grab and throttle its neck.

Link drew in a long, shuddering breath. In his memory, warlords had taken families of generals' hostage to make sure they only answered to them, and as a chip in the trade. "Anyone else?"

Cait Sith blinked. "Eh?"

"Anyone else a spy of Shinra? If they managed to tag one along, who's to say they planted another? To verify neither are lying? You have to be near the top for them to trust you, so is there another spy?"

With a wondering 'you've done this before', the cat shook his head. "As far as I'm told, the rest of you are totally genuine. I myself have some doubts about Vincent, but there are records that state he had been sealed away that long ago."

"Blasted trash from the cowering corners of Hell, you rot as the deceased fungus you are! Kids! Have you no humanity!" Yuffie yelled on, hands clawing out.

Cait Sith shrugged. "I'm a stuffed toy." His humour wasn't appreciated. Sighing, he shook his head. "Look, I know you guys don't trust me, and I understand your reasons. You just have to believe me. I'll lead you to the Temple of the Ancients, and I'll still fight alongside you. Take a recording of my oath and hold it against me should I turn aside!" There was a note of pleading in his voice.

Link closed his eyes. He hated times like these. "How good is the connection?" At everyone's confused stare, he tried again. "How well do you control things over in Shinra? Do you do everything this toy does, or is it pre-programmed in? Does the link let you feel whatever this thing is feeling?"

Not sure where this was going, he answered cautiously. "I have to concentrate on every action. The sensations are dulled and passed on as data, but the only senses that do not pass over are smell and taste."

Link nodded. "We don't need a recording of your oath. Your memory will be good enough. Now remember this," slowly he raised his knife so the edge just rested beneath the stuffed cat's chin, "that one slip is all it takes. One slip, and we'll burn you. We'll set every single fibre in that body alight, and salvage it before it can be destroyed. Children in tantrums have ripped apart cuddling toys, men in anger can flay and scourge the skin." He laughed darkly. "You won't die, but I've seen people fade away from the shock of pain."

Yuffie and Tifa stayed quiet. Link didn't like waiting for an answer – he dug the knife an inch into the fabric, eliciting a sharp hiss from Cait Sith. As well as he could, the cat nodded.

"There were times when I had to use torture to pull out information. The form may be different and the goal changed, but the practice is still the same." Link said ominously. "One slip."

Silently the escorted Cait Sith back to the hotel, Yuffie moodily stuffing the knife back up her sleeve. Despite the cat's reassurances, they couldn't stop glancing suspiciously at the dressed up staff. Yuffie juggled the knife between both sleeves for good measure.

Dawn was not that far off, so the remaining hour of night was spent in the lounge, silence held with the uncomfortable glares. When the group came down, Aeris was the first to notice the ripped gash in the animated cat's neck, demanding where on Earth he got that.

Cait Sith glanced at the three. Yuffie and Tifa maintained their heated glares, occasionally flickering towards the ambling staff. Link with his hands clasped in front of his mouth, never wavered with his cold stare, never blinking, never moving. Cait Sith shuddered; best not know what happened in that guy's past. Reluctantly he told what happened last night to the group.

Barret was furious – he was livid. Temples throbbing badly Link expected him to collapse from it bursting. His sole hand shook the cat free from the stuffed Moogle, rattling him bad enough to enlarge the gash. Aeris was not any lighter in her furies, but her eyes shone with betrayal and hurt. Red XIII seemed to tremble with anger. Everyone seemed to be ready to achieve Link's threat, but Vincent's detached reminder that Cait Sith knew where the Temple of Ancients was kept them from reducing him to a mangled heap of burnt synthetics.

Needless to say, it wasn't a happy start to their journey. Other passengers in the shuttle back to North Corel caught the mood and wisely stayed silent. Cid managed to finish two packets of cigarettes by the time they reached the tractor, and emptied his stash by the time they boarded the Tiny Bronco.

Aeris healed the wound in Cait Sith, but even she seemed to think that was too much kindness. The cat softly piped up that they should move slightly more east, and got punched for his efforts. Barret spent the journey mumbling about Marlene and promises.

For all their anger at the plush toy, everyone at some point flicked a glance at Link. Vincent seemed slightly amused at the descriptions of what Link threatened to do, and occasionally questioned about where he learnt that. The rest kept their silence when he drew out the kikuichimonji and stabbed into the waters, pulling it out with a three-foot fish struggling attached. Methodically making sure the cat could see he used his knife to gouge out the eyes and empty its organs through a small slit at the neck and rear, scaling it so that uniformed rivulets of blood scarred the fish. In an ironic twist he asked Cait Sith to be the one to cook it.

One slip.

A/N: The date scene… ending rather un-romantic. Ah well, can't say I haven't tried my hand lightly into fictional affections, but I don't think I'm rather good at it. Might jot some in now and then, but best stick to my dark, grim tone.

Maybe I should alter the genre. Angst. Then again, I'm still going to pepper events with humour and touches of liveliness. Ah well, we'll see how the plot turns out – the ending will be interesting.

Just wondering, but does Yuffie have sleeves? Now that I think about it, such a minor detail escaped my memory. Might do.

Well, many thanks to all those that have read this far, and my deepest gratitude to those who review. I remember having a dream about the number 4444, four digits of fours. It was meant to be good luck. Who knows, maybe that will be the total tally of reviews I'll have when the story ends.


	9. Chapter 8

A/N: When Square Enix asks for royalties for playing their music, it's definitely for occasions when money is passed. But what about occasions when it's free (and no donations) but a large audience? Do you have to pay for that?

Chapter 8:

_The smallest probabilities are always still probabilities. Given the might Link possessed in his magic and sword-skill, he alone would have made a fortress impenetrable. No army would have gotten pass a corridor where he stands. For over twenty thousand battles, Link remained victorious. _

_And yet no matter how good he was, there was always the chance he will lose. Then was such a case, when his opponents had expected his magic, and grouped hundreds of spell casters to seal it from him. Temporary, of course, but it meant that he had to fight with his blade alone and dodge the dragons of fire that lanced at him._

_Saria__ had sensed defeat and it was time to run. His sword broke in the combat, but Link managed to core the assaulting army like an apple and grind an escape route right through them. Now they were fragmented and confused, their leader unlucky enough to be in Link's way, and Link, Saria, Navi and Shael were hiding in the surrounding forests to wait for the seal to break._

_That was two days ago. When Link sheared the army, it had left it weak enough for the defenders to pick off those who dared stray near the fort. Now it had dissolved into miniature bands prowling the forests, each wishing to exact their anger on the man… beast that tore their army to pieces. With Saria still prodding at the seal, Link didn't think he could keep fighting and so resorted to hiding in the trees._

_They had lived it rough before, but never in a mangrove forest where the humidity always bordered on raining. Water flooded the grounds as mud slicked the bark, and each step would take a few hours to bubble out of view: plenty of time for a keen tracker to hunt them down. They never had to leap from branch to slippery branch before either, and already five times the wood looked sturdier than it really was._

_Navi__ was now suffering flu and Shael didn't look that good either. Periodically she kept sneezing, mumbling to herself and curling up for warmth. Saria, without any herbs, couldn't make any medicine, and it was too dangerous to browse around searching for the right ones. She alone might be deft enough to avoid detection, but if she was caught…_

_"Vrai'tu osta qui strea lir," /You'll have to bear it for a while/ Saria said soothingly to the fairies, folding her empty sack into an impromptu blanket for them both. Navi sniffled miserably and Shael nodded weakly._

_Link found it a bit strange. For over three hundred odd years no disease struck them, yet now the fairies were coming down with sickness. Maybe it was because they had been pampered too much, living in the comforts of the fortresses. Maybe it was just the moisture in the air cultivating infectious bacteria to grow._

_"Se frei beau, ne ri'l pas." /I'm fine, don't worry./ Navi hiccupped out, shivering in the fabric. Her face was coloured an unhealthy pink as her forehead sweated. Shael patted her comfortingly on the back as she started coughing. _

_Link frowned worriedly at his fairy. Raising his eyes, Saria was just as concerned. Softly discussing with her, she told him what he might need to know to find the plants she would need to make medicine with. He might get caught, the weight of his equipment leaving deeper imprints in the mud, but at least he'll be able to fight his way free. Until he could return with the needed plants, Navi and Shael would have to do their best with what Saria could offer._

_"Se frei beau…" /I'm fine…/ Navi said a final time, pulling the coarse cloth to cover her body. With a determined look, Link leapt from the tree, eyes blazing the scenery for the needed plants. _

_-S-_

The Temple of the Ancients. Its name was enough to send shivers down people's backs. After all, who would not show humility to a building created out of the magic it was meant to supplicate to? A mass made to hide an entity of ultimate destruction: respecting the dangerous resulted in cautiousness.

It was one thing to hear and reach it. It was a totally different thing to see it. Mists slowly coalesced as they approached, preventing them from seeing it by the curvature of the earth. The Tiny Bronco started guttering and slowing the closer they came, and Barret started swearing about his gun jamming. Aeris helpfully pointed out a still sinking wreck of a helicopter to their right, and the half inflated lifeboat next to it.

By the time they managed to touch shore, it was done by paddling. Barret had given up on his gun arm working, and replaced it with a saw. Strangely enough Cait Sith could still function like normal.

It was a true sight to behold. Above the thick growth of foliage the dark ziggurat could be seen, towering in its monstrosity above the trees. Mist that trickled on the forest floor drifted their way up the giant steps of the building, seeping around the obsidian cracks to escalate at the top, creating a whirling pool of mist. Amazingly enough, despite the sight of earth on the Temple, plants managed to grow on its outside, leaves flaring out lushly to soak up the sun.

"I don't like this place." Cid concluded, tossing aside his finished cigarette. Before he could stamp on it though, the ground 'twitched' around it, soil swallowing it. Everyone stared as the ground 'burped' it out, the spark killed. "I really don't like this place."

Link was carefully prodding the cigarette with his toe. "I guess that's just the magic of the Cetra, trying to preserve the plants here." He peered off into the distance, seeing the lifestream weaving around the island. "They definitely left their mark."

"Not just the Cetras, the Turks too. I'll bet that was their helicopter we saw earlier on. There's no time to waste, let's get a move on." Cloud commanded, flicking his wrists to shoo the others into the right direction.

The mist slithered along the ground, flowing around and over everyone's feet. Yuffie, who was wearing sandals, shivered at the sensations and every five steps paused to wriggle her toes. Every six steps the group would be attacked by a swarm of wasps, and every seven the dirt path would twist aside so that the trees covered what was behind and in front of them. In just fifteen minutes of walking, Link wasn't sure how to get back to the Tiny Bronco, and it was just the growing figure of the Temple that told them they were going the right direction.

Each step became harder too, and when the woods cleared out to reveal the Temple of the Ancients in all its majestic glory, most of the group was struggling to lift one foot from the other. Only Tifa, Cait Sith, Red XIII and Aeris seemed to be spared of the hardship.

"I really, _really_, don't like this place." Cid managed to growl out, body shaking from the effort of lifting his foot. He had to put it down very quickly as the earth started to give way under the pressure of his weight.

"The world just gets heavier." Link muttered to himself. Surveying the group, Cloud and Barret seemed to be suffering the worst, the ground buckling until they were knee deep in soil. Cid came a distant third, followed by Vincent in how much effort it was taking to lift their bodies. Barret decided that spitting a curse every second would help, and Yuffie seemed ready to follow his example.

Aeris shrugged. "The Cetra were said to be a peaceful race. Maybe this is one enchantment of theirs that prevents heavy fighters from approaching their buildings of worship?"

Red XIII shook his head. "If it was such the case, then I would suffer just as badly as they are." He paused in his disagreement to help Cloud scrabble out of the ground. "I would suspect that Link would be drowning with such an enchantment." He turned to look apologetically to Link, who waved it off noncommittally.

Tifa nodded. "Maybe it's something about mass, or something? I mean, us girls can't weigh as much as you guys, Cait Sith is just walking cotton and Red XIII walks on four legs. Hopefully it'll go away inside the Temple."

Yuffie's eyelid twitched. "Are you saying I'm fat?"

"No, but you with your ninja training would mean you'll have more muscle than us two…"

"You had martial arts training too. Are you saying I'm fat?"

Link grunted with exertion from his next step, and frustrated loosened his sword to drop on the ground. Suddenly he felt a lot lighter just as the blade started sinking. Quickly he gripped onto its sheath and lied down to spread the pressure.

"Maybe it has something to do with peacefulness." Link commented from the ground. "The blasted building is making metal heavy, very heavy. It's probably what interfered with that helicopter and our plane." He whistled appreciatively. "That's one heck of a magnet." Barret released the cache holding the saw in place, and swore when it sunk straight down.

Tifa frowned worriedly. "That's not good. You can't afford to abandon your weapons and armour here. We can't leave all that Materia lying around."

Vincent nodded. "Indeed, that would pose too tempting a gift to anyone that passes. Perhaps someone here is proficient in gravity magic, and can counter the force the Temple bears to our weapons?"

Aeris nodded. "My skills aren't the best with it, but I should be able to hold it longer. Barret, can you hand me the Materia?"

"Just a sec, let me just dig this flaming thing out… you coulda thought of that a bit earlier, can't ya? Blasted gravity…" With his real arm he shovelled the soil aside, accidentally spraying Cloud with the dirt. With a shout he pulled the needed Materia free from its slot in his weapon and tossed it over to Aeris. "Can you pull my weapon out first?"

Fishing it out of the air, she grinned. Out of habit she twirled her staff in a summoning arc, and grasped her magic.

Suddenly voices called out of the air, speaking to her. In surprise she nearly dropped her staff. The others were looking at her curiously, but Aeris didn't notice. Her attention was spent listening to the voices.

_"Welcome home, Daughter of the Lands."_

_"We've waited, Daughter of Mine."_

_"You've arrived, Daughter of the Cetra."_

The words whispered free of the air, flowing around and caressing her. Staring at the black Temple, Aeris gaped in wonder. "Who, where? Do you know me, us?"

_"My Child, we've loved all our descendants."_

_"We are the Cetra, Daughter. We love all our children."_

_"From the lifestream, from magic we call. We welcome you home, yet we must warn you."_

If it could have been possible, Aeris would have said that the trees swayed in greeting and the mists beckoned. She would also have said the winds called of danger, and the sun glaring across the Temple called her to leave. "Why? A warning… danger? The Turks?"

_"No, not the Turks we warn you of. The One Winged Angel, he's near."_

_"He beckons our magic to serve, he wishes for the Destruction. Be warned."_

_"He waits, within and without. He comes in incomplete numbers, and commands. Beware."_

"Who…" Aeris was pulled forcibly out of her reverie as a black cloaked figure stumbled out of the trees to collapse onto her. Shouting in alarm she kicked it off and bashed it aside with her staff. It rolled onto its side, revealing the number nine tattoed on it.

"The Reunion… I'm coming…" It moaned before falling still.

Cloud frowned. "Sephiroth. Well, isn't life full of fun."

"Hello, in case you didn't notice Aeris, but while you were talking to the air, you haven't fixed the gravity problem yet."

Aeris bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry; I'll get to it now." Clasping the Materia in both hands, she called back her magic and channelled it into the Materia. Focussing on Barret's weapon first, she wrapped her own gravity magic beneath the weaves that laced across the weapon towards the building. Finishing in blocking the weave from touching the weapon, she changed her attention to all the other weapons. The voices didn't return.

Her smile was a bit strained, but it was done in satisfaction. "There: job done. I'll have to hold onto the magic though, so you guys will have to fight any monsters without me."

Barret pulled his weapon out of the ground relieved, and Cloud swung his sword experimentally. "We really can't waste time especially since Sephiroth is around. Let's go." With an unhappy sigh they trudged forward, forming a protective ring around Aeris.

No one spoke as they approached the entrance. Standing three metres tall, the open way in would have been comforting if not for the stone doors lying in pieces on the ground and the hinges warped from strain. Something or someone had pushed his way in recently.

Tifa frowned. "Great. First the giant snake, now this. He likes leaving an impression, doesn't he?"

It wasn't the only impression Sephiroth left behind. Where the outside was obsidian stone, the inside halls were etched with shining gold. The glimmers of untold wealth did little however to hide the fact that Tseng of the Turks was lying against a black altar, his blood rolling along the floor and a giant sword impaling his abdomen.

"Sweet mother o' heaven what the 'ell happened!" Cid swore loudly, pulling the tired attention of Tseng away from the gleaming blade towards the group. "Ya don't look too good there."

"I can tell," Tseng muttered irritably. With a wince he tried to pull the sword out, but to no avail. "I'll live though. I'm made of sterner stuff."

"No sterner than blood and flesh and bits of kidney and…" Yuffie trailed off her list of what Sephiroth's sword managed to hack out of him. Her face turned a pale green, and stiffly she turned around.

"He's not after the Promised Land. Not directly." Tseng coughed out.

"How would you know that?" Aeris demanded, passing some of her attention away from the gravity magic to the fallen Turk. "I don't think he would have outright told you."

"Temple Guardians. He told them, and then killed them." Tseng shivered slightly before shaking his head. "Crazy lunatic: their deaths must have awakened the rest inside."

"Temple Guardians? The voices before, were they…?" Aeris shook her head. "Were there three of them?"

"No friggin' clue. Hey, girl," he turned his gaze to Tifa, "could you help me with the sword?"

Cloud intercepted her before she could step forward. "We're going to need the Keystone first. After that, we'll deal with your injuries." Tifa seemed to want to mouth her protest, but stopped when Link shook his head.

Tseng chuckled. "You've grown, eh? Ruthlessness is the way of the world. Fine; here," with another wince he moved his hand to his back, "Sephiroth threw it aside when he used it to enter. You'll have to place it on the altar."

Suspiciously Vincent stood forth, metallic arm pulling the Keystone from under him. With a backward wave Tifa came forth, wrestling the sword free of the ground and Tseng. Before he could die of further blood loss she managed to cast a healing spell, strong enough that it ensured that he would survive but weak enough so that he wasn't strong enough to interfere.

"You guys go first – I'll catch up later." Vincent said as he passed the Keystone to Cloud. "You heard the man, place the stone on the altar. I'm come along later."

They looked at him curiously, but did as told. Vincent used his real hand to drag Tseng away from the altar by a few metres, and gestured for them to use it. Cloud looked at him one more time to make sure, and then placed the Keystone.

If anyone was expecting the walls to dissolve away, a secret gateway to fade into view or a brick to loosen free, they were in for a surprise. Grinding sounds like ancient clockwork kicking into gear after ages of no use filled the hallways, reverberating across the golden bricks and shaking the ground. But instead of a door opening, a trapdoor did, right beneath their feet. If they had time, they would have appreciated the fine mechanisms that bound the door together so seamlessly no one noticed and commented on the strength it had to have to support stone above. They unfortunately didn't, Aeris making sure that none of her Materia were flying free and the rest hoping the landing wouldn't hurt.

After half a minute the grumbling resumed, and with a sharp _click_ the trapdoor sealed itself. The Keystone had been jarred free from the altar and was rolling across Tseng's puddle of blood.

"Well, you wanted to ask me something in private. Ask." Tseng said the moment the sounds stopped. "If it is about what Shinra is going to do next, I cannot tell you."

Vincent waved his metallic arm. "No, no. I'm not worried about issues of the future. At present, I just want questions of the past answered." Gritting his teeth he lifted Tseng up from his sitting position by his neck and dropped him on his feet.

Tseng brushed his tuxedo calmly, frowning down at the rip which exposed his abdomen. "You're not one in touch with the world, are you?"

Vincent smiled. "Does the name 'Valve Thirteen' mean anything to you?"

Tseng's eyes narrowed suddenly, and before he regained control his mouth uttered a soft hiss. Still, despite his unconscious shift into a cautious stance, his answer remained cool. "It hasn't before, and it won't now. I don't know why you would think such."

Vincent kept his smile, although it gained a dangerous edge. "Lie." Without warning his claw arm darted forward, grabbing Tseng's jaw and with the momentum slammed his body against the wall. Tseng twitched in defence, but held still when one golden claw drew across his throat. "I am less man than monster, and where before I had little reason to kill I care not now. Tell me: what has happened with the Turks so far, with Shinra and Hojo? These are my questions, now answer."

Tseng's body shook with his soft chuckles. "Valve Thirteen, punished on accounts of believed betrayal. In defiance of Hojo and his science, you were cast from the Turks. Now you ask what happened. Tell me, did you really betray us, or did we betray you?"

His suppressed laughter was killed when he heard a quiet click next to his temple. Vincent's other arm was raised, and Tseng could just see the glint of the barrel on the edge of his vision. "I ask the questions. You answer." Vincent said impassively.

Tseng managed to shrug despite the claw to his neck, maintaining the famed Turk cool façade. "Your call, you hold the gun, I don't. Well, since you want to know, the Turks are still as they are: specialised bodyguards to Shinra and information agents. President Shinra died, killed by Sephiroth – his son Rufus has taken over. Hojo is Hojo. He recently took a break in Costa de Sol, but is back to his work doing whatever he does." When Vincent's claw started applying greater pressure to the base of his jaw, he hastily added, "It is Shinra's new policy. The science department leaves the information department alone, and vice versa. Only when we suspect something peculiar with either the experiments or the scientist do we start investigating."

With a disgusted snarl Vincent withdrew his gun and released Tseng's neck, where the metal fingers had left red imprints in his skin. Rubbing his neck, Tseng checked to make sure Vincent wasn't going to do anything more before leaving.

Vincent placed the Keystone back onto the altar, and this time prepared for the floor to disappear from beneath him took the time to wipe the blood on the Keystone on his red cloak. With a deft landing he rolled to absorb the impact, which turned out to be not so smart an idea.

In the completion of his roll his body was now lurching over the edge of the platform, the drop down criss-crossed with spindly stone bridges layering one another. Beneath was the infinite sky, and a loose pebble knocked free fell off his platform, and kept falling. With a surprised scrabble he dug his fingers into the edge and pushed away, landing on his backside a bit bewildered.

"It's quite the view, eh?" Link said behind him, chuckling when Vincent whipped around startled. "We have the sky above us, and the sky beneath us. How, given that we're underneath the Temple of the Ancients, I have no idea. That has to be one heavy magic spell to maintain the illusion."

The others approached from behind Link, some frowning in frustration. "It's this bloody maze," Barret grumbled, "how the heck are we meant to tell up from down? The bridges to stone buildings to bridges to bridges to the first bridge. It's one hell of a bloody maze."

"We decided to wait nearby for you to come by," Tifa added helpfully, in answer to Vincent's questioning looks, "it'll be too easy to get lost in this place. So we decided to travel as a group, and wait for you. Besides, Aeris thinks her anti-gravity spell will grow weaker when you're too far away."

Cloud seemed amused at how the stones seemed to fall forever. "Did you know that this place is infested with frogs?" He rolled his eyes from a hurt glance from Aeris. "Fine, it uses frogs as protectors, among other things. Those Toxic Frogs always travel around with Under Lizards, and twice already we've been ambushed by them."

Yuffie was spending a long time staring at the bridges, her eyes darting from one building attachment to another. "I think I saw something like this in a picture back in Wutai," she mumbled to herself, "it asked you how to get from the start to the finish without doubling back. I know I can solve this."

Cid however didn't have such an optimistic view of the maze. "Ah 'ell, it's all a friggin' mess anyway. Jus' pick one darned direction and walk down the damned bridge. Deal with whatever's there whenever it's there."

Red XIII shrugged. "Regardless, no matter whether we think we know the way or not, we're going to have to make a decision on where to go at some point. Aeris believes the left bridge is right, Cid selected the right bridge from flipping a coin and Link decided the front bridge. Yuffie is still trying to figure it out, and we're pretty much undecided. What do you think?"

Vincent shrugged. "I don't know. We'll go with Cid's idea of luck then."

Link nodded and plucked a stem from a nearby plant and a Toxic Frog jumped out. Before it could do anything though, Link had hooked it with his sheathed kikuichimonji and tossed it into the middle of the group, where it was blasted with ice magic courtesy of Red XIII, Yuffie, Tifa and Cloud.

"They don't like ice magic." Link explained to the staring Vincent. "You kill them quick and they won't turn you into frogs. Anyway, this side points the direction we go," he broke one end slightly.

With a flick he spun the stem between his index and middle fingers, letting it twirl up the air and descend. A scratching sound was heard as it grazed across the stone, ending up pointing left.

Link smiled satisfactorily. "Looks like Aeris was right, we're going left."

Yuffie looked at him strangely. "So we're going left because Aeris has a gut feeling and you spun a twig, not because it had been deduced from how the bridges interlace each other." She said flatly.

Link shrugged. "The thing is, the broken end of the twig will be more responsive to magical fields given its exposure to its once living fibres. I myself can't see much in terms of the lifestream: it just litters the place, and everything is a haze of green. By spinning it I gave the twig the extra nudge it needed to focus down the most magically active direction."

Cloud whistled appreciatively. "Wow, I never knew that."

Link nodded. "Neither did me. I just made it up. We can't spend time trying to figure it out, so we'll do what Cid said: deal with whatever whenever. You ready?" With a grumble Yuffie took his offered hand to help her get up. Frowning petulantly, she muttered about know-it-all ancients that knew absolutely nothing.

The bridges were pretty narrow, so the group rearranged themselves so that they could deal with the sudden frog ambushes that seemed to leap out of the air. The quicker people like Link and Yuffie were placed at the back, since they were the best to respond to a backwards attack. The more durable heavy fighters like Barret and Cid were rowed in the front, and Cloud accompanied Aeris as a bodyguard of sorts in the centre. Red XIII, Tifa, Vincent and Cait Sith interspersed the others as magic users.

As they approached the first stone building, feminine laughter filled the air, soft and sultry. Getting closer showed a voluptuous lady playing checkers with two gooey blobs, and amused at her defeat. Her good-natured laughter ended quickly as she spotted the group coming closer.

Elegantly she rose to her feet, brushing her hair aside as she interposed herself between the corridor behind her and the group. The strange blobs hovered over to her sides, each on other side of her knees.

The group looked at one another. Given that Barret and Cid were at the front, it seemed like the lady was expecting them to do the talking. "Uh, good day?" Barret managed to squeeze out politely.

She smiled at his effort, acknowledging his attempt to be courteous. "In the symbol of the Cetra, the days remain in eternal heaven. I am Jemnezmy, guardian of the first post." She curtsied graciously, an achievement given how she wasn't wearing a dress. "If I might have the pleasure to ask, why are you here?"

Barret looked to Cid, who looked back. "Uh, it's because we're following a blo… a bad man who caused alotta – a great amount of hurt to us." He seemed to sweat with the effort of cutting out his usual slang, but the lady Jemnezmy nodded in understanding.

"Your cause is worthy, but I have not seen anyone pass before you. Unless you wish to take the challenge of the first post, you'll either have to turn back or fight me." She sighed regretfully at the last part.

Aeris looked up from concentrating on the gravity Materia. "A challenge? Is it a mental one, or a physical one?"

"It's mainly about what you know. You can't answer it if none of you party knows, but you'll pass along fine if someone does. Will you wish to take the challenge? Once you start, only death can end it." Her face scrunched up in displeasure.

Aeris paused in thought before slowly nodding. Jemnezmy nodded courteously in response. Her features grew hard, somehow managing to stand straighter and look down at them more imperiously, all previous kindness gone.

"Time," she stated in a drawn voice, "is the passage of what was, is, and will be. It is the lone conqueror, for none can challenge its rule without facing its wrath. Poems have been dedicated to its might, and pictures drawn to its supremacy. Now give the song that flows to its passage."

The group stared at each other in confusion. She expected them to know this? Cid fumbled around with his spear, clearly going for the option to fight free, but before anyone could do anything Link pulled out his ocean blue ocarina and played the Song of Time.

The music did not have the power over the stream as it used to do, but among the infinite skies that surrounded them it echoed with a dormant energy, rolling through the air as music not just dedicated to time, but personifying it in music. The faint voices of choirs cascaded into existence, chanting along with the melody. When Link finished playing and the choir faded away, everyone else was still feeling a tingling sensation along their skin.

Jemnezmy stared blankly at Link, before breaking out of her trance to nod in surprise. A clear chime echo resonated in the background. "That will do: you may pass." She looked inquiringly at Link before asking, "If I might be permitted to ask, but where did you learn that song?"

Link smiled in nostalgia, chuckling softly. "In a land dedicated to the Goddesses that embodied time, the basilica and royalty made songs in tribute to their deities. That song just happened to be one of the end products."

The lady nodded in acceptance and stood aside, an arm gesturing in invitation for them to pass. The gooey blobs hovered away. With a bit of shuffling the group reassembled their formation, and passed.

The group followed Aeris' gut instinct again, going up a ramp that twisted on itself to top itself. On the way a Doorbull charged down at them, but thankfully Cid managed to spear it before it could crash too deep down the ranks. With a wail it tried to disgorge itself from the pike, thrashing at Cid, but by then Barret who had already replaced his gun arm and was littering its flank with bullets. Cloud strode closer, and with a meaty _thunk_ detached its head from the body, hewing through bone and sinew with his sword. With it dead, that just left pushing its carcass off the bridge and out of their way.

"You know, this might sound a bit strange after so long," Link asked casually, pausing to watch how the Doorbull dissolved away into golden motes, "but don't you think you're a bit callous in your fighting? I mean, the moment you see an opponent monster or person you turn into fighting-mode and fight away with unnatural focus and mercilessly."

Cloud shrugged in a noncommittal manner. "Maybe, I don't know. Can't we ask the same question to you? I mean, you said that you were an assassin of some sort earlier on."

Link nodded. "Possibly, but it was slightly different then: I was told to kill, so I killed. You have the choice of giving mercy to your opponents: injure so they won't bother you any more, but death seems a bit unnecessary. Life is precious, and save it when you can."

Aeris sighed. "Sometimes, I ask myself that question. Philosophers have justified death in that the death of a select few can save the lives of many others. With these animals, isn't it cruel to leave it maimed, unable to find food or defend itself? Death becomes a mercy then, for better a quick death to our magic and blades than being mangled further by another animal's bite."

The group proceeded to talk about the virtues and faults of killing without a thought, countering whether their methods were any more merciful that natural predation. They followed where Aeris subconsciously led them, and soon enough after traversing the multitude of overlaying bridges found reached another stone building.

Inside was what looked like the same woman from the earlier post, except that she had seven of the blob things flying around the place, and was lounging against the wall with an expression of absolute boredom. Upon hearing the footsteps of the incoming group, she brightened considerably; hopping to her feet and with a flick of her wrist commanded the blobs to line up.

"Good day, travellers, I'm Jemnezmy of the second post. What may I do to help you?" She asked cheerfully. "Need any refreshments or a route back? If you want I can personally lead you to the exit – these 8-Eyes will probably get lost, the poor dears. I'm afraid the drinks selection is rather limited: I can only offer plain water or sparkling water, but some of you must be rather thirsty – the sun never stops shining down here, very remarkable, isn't it?"

Some of the group seemed willing to take the proffered offer, but Aeris cut in quickly before anyone could accept. "We're grateful for your hospitality, but we really must go forward. Do you have a sister?"

Jemnezmy looked at her oddly before shaking her head. "No, not sisters, although perhaps you Earth-bound will call it as such. No, we're more like facets of the same gem, each different but sparkling with the same beauty." She chuckled at that. "Well, to get here you must have passed one of my 'sisters' then. Do you wish to return, take the challenge or fight?"

Aeris gave her decision, and Jemnezmy nodded in acquiescence. The 8-Eyes hovered back a few steps, and she fell into a trance, speaking in monotone.

"The time that flows and the time that governs: it wraps space, and space progresses with it. Two boundaries of the differing axes, existence are what travel through both. Now what happens when an unstoppable force collides with an immovable object? What will you face if eternity turns against infinity?"

Cloud blinked. What the hell? Turning around, it didn't seem that Link had an answer to that, looking as perplexed as Cloud imagined he must have been. Everyone looked stumped, glancing at one another in hopes someone else knew the answer.

"Okay, is this a riddle or one of those you got to know it type of things?" Yuffie asked slowly, looking at Jemnezmy. She didn't offer a reply.

Red XIII decided to take a gamble. "When eternity collides with infinity, we get the meshing of both. In fact, given how we seem to travel through time and space – although only one direction for time, as it is as so far impossibly to travel the other direction – I'm taking an assumption that creation is born, and the laws that govern us are implemented. When both collide, they travel in unison with each other."

Jemnezmy didn't respond to that answer, the only motion being the wind ruffling through her hair. The 8-Eyes however inched closer into a semi-circle, as if in expectation of attack.

Link exhaled noisily. "Guess that's not the right answer, huh? Damn." Slinging his sword off his back, he sat down against the barrister of the bridge and crossed his legs. "This will take some hard thinking – heh, I haven't done that for quite a long time.

"Let's set the scene: Red, you took the guess that the conditions when both collide were when they were directly against each other, and nothing else was acting as a factor, and that seemed wrong. Given how I have no other idea, I'm going to assume that we take the example of now: when time and space travel next to each other or at least time around or through space.

"Now what would cause time to hit space? If it's travelling through it, what does it hit, and if it goes along it, why would it bend off its path? Maybe if we solve those first, we'll find the answer."

Vincent looked at him with profound respect. "Where did you think of that?"

"I used to fill my time playing with those spin the cube to match the colours and toying with metal clasps to do or undo the object. I guess those started rubbing off on me."

Red XIII closed his eyes and adopted a sitting position as well. Rolling the puzzle through his head, you could almost see his brain power whir into life. "Let's assume time travels not through or along, but in and out – perhaps at the same time," he thought aloud, tapping one paw against the ground, "and collision will be when it can somehow bend from out to in and vice versa. 'An unstoppable force…' If time is a force, it must be exerting something, and therefore can be divided or channelled for use. If one of the uses is to move it aside… then…"

Yuffie shook her head in confusion. "Bleargh, I hate riddles. An unstoppable force against an immovable object: I got to remember that one. No one can answer that. Time stops, space moves." She was about to fling herself against the ground and take a break, but a voice stopped her.

"Well, you're one of the few that found an answer," Jemnezmy said in wonder, shaking her head in disbelief, "and without thinking at that. Incredible."

Yuffie stood in between the motion of falling and standing up, body frozen in shock. "I got it right?"

Link laughed. "For all our postulating and procedures, you got it with a fluke. Who'd have thought?" Still chuckling, he got up and clapped Yuffie's shoulder, breaking her freeze and toppling her. "Well, at least we can continue."

"To more bridges, and more buildings and more challenges. I hate all this thinking." Barret moaned, frowning meanly at the 8-Eyes that hovered out of their way. "I'm better off fighting."

Jemnezmy laughed quietly, smiling kindly at his predicament. "You won't have to worry so much about our challenges anymore – the other puzzles of the Temple, perhaps, but not us." Gesturing to the group to follow her, the 8-Eyes parted in front of her, trailing behind the group. They proceeded towards a tall gate, carvings of flowers and vines printing its front. With a small grunt she pushed open the gates, exposing the grand chasm before.

There, it was not perpetual sunlight. Rather, most of the group had to squint to see past the thick fog of darkness that suppressed the brightness. On the walls was a grand mosaic of time instruments, ranging from the sculptured patterns of hourglasses to grandiose hints at giant buildings where the passage of the sun left shadows to mark the time. The floor, however, was something more wonderful…

"Welcome," Jemnezmy said, amused at their expressions, "to the Labyrinth under the Temple of the Ancients."

_-S-_

A/N: Wow… that was a lot longer than I expected. I intended to squeeze the entire Temple episode into this chapter, but it was a lot larger than anticipated. Ah well, at least I know what's going to happen next.

I just realised: if I follow the FF7 until the end (like I intended), this is going to be one hell of a story. We're still on the first disc. And I got the remaining two discs to go… nevermind, it'll keep me doing something.

Well, as usual please review and give your thoughts and comments. Thanks for sticking this far (looking at my other story the Odyssey Blade, I have to be amazed at how much typing I did for it), and hopefully the next update won't take long. Thanks.


	10. Chapter 9

A/N: Haha, exams are over! Sorry if they caused any large delay in my usual updating times – there is no schedule I follow by, so I wouldn't know. Anyway, to all young ones who enjoy history, if you're given the choice, don't take history, no matter what country or education system you have. It hurts, oh it hurts.

Chapter 9:

_"Se frei beau."__ Those were Navi's last words before Link ran to find any medicinal plants, and those were Navi's final words when he finally returned. The disease proved to be more fatal than they all thought._

_Link stared blankly at the grave they made for her. Stuck in an unknown Planet, she did not have the comforts of resting in home ground. To escape the stranded armies that hunted them, the best they could do was find a small rocky alcove to create it and protect it from desecration. _

_Life wasn't fair. They used to talk about what they would do when they returned, Saria, Shael, Navi, and Link. They would joke, and laugh, and role play the welcoming party they would receive. It was all doubtful, but there was hope. Now Navi was dead – she would never return. The dreams of success, of celebration, of home, had died with her. Link didn't know what to feel._

_Angry?__ Depressed? Sad? Furious? He was all, and none at the same time. Staring at the stone they used as her tomb, he tried to conjure up some feeling, but failed._

_It was raining outside. Shael's health was deteriorating as well, and it was taking all of Saria's expertise to ward off the sickness. A flash of lightning illuminated the epitaph written for Navi, and the thunder echoed through the cave as the heavens cried. Shaking slightly, Link raised his hands to feel the words etched onto the tombstone._

_Saria__ had composed it, a song to mourn the passing of one of his best friends. The Firefly's Grave. Written in the Hylian language as well fey scripture, it was the final tribute they could give to his departed friend. Link had spent hours playing the song on the ocarina, letting the music surround them in a small blanket of comfort. _

_Link cursed his folly – why, _why_ didn't he play the Song of Time earlier? Before he lost his connection to Hyrule's magic, before it was too late? He could have saved them all, returned them back to the Lost Woods and change the decision to find Termina. He could have, but he didn't. Why?_

_If not for the sombreness of the situation, he might have laughed. Paradox, that was why. Zelda had warned him about tampering with time, about the dangers it posed. It was necessary to defeat Ganondorf. It wasn't so bad for Termina: three days wouldn't make such a ripple as seven years, but like continuously hitting a blanket with a stick you would rip a hole through it. Eternity would have collapsed upon him if he tried the song one more time. The multitude of branches made when time is repeated will cause the great tree to fall under the weight. No, Zelda's warning was to never play the Song of Time, no matter how dire the situation called for it. Link wished he didn't listen._

_Saria__ was trying to protect Shael from the curtain of rain that slithered across the alcove, huddling close to the sick fairy for shelter and warmth. The torrent of rain drowned out her whispered words, and Link couldn't tell whether she was soothing the fairy or casting some incantation. Slumped on his knees, he returned his gave back to the grave. _

_An idiot, Navi had called him. You'd be the cause of my death, she once joked. Link wished it just remained a joke. No more battles with her help and advice, no more nights contemplating the constellations together, no more mistakes that she pulled him out of. No more Navi. _

_Link wanted to punch something, but restrained himself. This place was Navi's final resting ground, and he wouldn't taint it with an act of violence. Gritting back the tears that were sprouting, he sagged against the wall, breathing getting more erratic._

_"Link, she'st triqu levalier," /Link, we must go/ Saria called out softly, barely intelligible past the drumming of the rain, "Se plaes steis Shael dost." /I cannot help Shael here./ _

_Link nodded numbly, wiping his face roughly. There was no time to mourn for his friend, for they now had to save the other one. This was one downhill battle, and they had fallen off the cliff._

_-S-_

A grand clock, the entire labyrinth seemed to be an ironic mockery of the powers Link once possessed. Calendars up to many millennia past their time were etched on the walls, and rustic depictions of the Planet's birth were scrawled across the ceiling. On the floor was a giant clock face, the hands slowly thrumming with each slow tick.

Their soft footfalls were enough to activate the strange glowing moss on the stone surfaces, light humming with each minute vibration. The faint green light was enough to illuminate the steps before them, but not enough to give greater detail about the room surrounding them.

The entrance was at the top, and the clock at the bottom. The goal seemed simple, in just reaching the bottom via the stairs, and dealing with the clock later. But given how the chamber was over a kilometre in radius and went two kilometres down, that was a lot of steps to walk down.

"This place must have been a fairly recent addition," Link said to break the silence, gesturing around, "I can't remember hearing about this place when I was around."

Tifa raised her eyebrow. "So it had to be around seven hundred to four hundred years old. Very recent." Link had the grace to look sheepish.

"I wonder why the Cetra bothered making such a destructive Materia?" Aeris pondered, her hand outstretched to lightly feel the etchings on the wall. "I mean, there has been no recorded moment when they actually used it. It seems like a great risk for nothing."

They fell back into silence, the patter of their steps being the only sounds emitted. It was strangely soothing, the eerie green light, the suffocated steps, the ancient might surrounding and the vast darkness that hid it. At least, it was to Link, although he had his fair share of dank, dark caverns that seemed to lead nowhere. Perhaps it was because of those experiences he could fully appreciate the subliminal beauty of the labyrinth, and the joy of having companionship while exploring the unexplored.

To Barret however, the half hour of walking and getting nowhere was grating at his mind.

"Are we there yet?" he shouted suddenly, startling everyone. Trying not to look like a petulant child, he added, "We've bin goin' on for ages! Are we goin' the right direction, anyways?"

Cloud shrugged. "Maybe not, but last time I checked the only direction there was, was down." He paused in thought – causing a muffled 'oomph' as Yuffie stumbled on his stilled form – and frowned deeply. "I really hope that there wasn't a secret passageway we missed." That would mean half an hour of backtracking, slightly longer since they'll be going up instead of down, and if false another half an hour of going back down.

Yuffie rubbed her face, muttering to herself about giant fat swords needing softer sheaths. "Well, not much we can say about that, can we?" she grumbled aloud, giving Cloud's back a spiteful look, "there isn't much in terms of landmarks we could use."

Maybe it was because of some lost magic, or maybe they managed to walk far enough, but a few seconds after her saying that the passageway branched to a side, revealing a room coated in the glowing moss. Gaining energy from the ground vibrations they sprung the room into light, bathing the place with their glow. Inside sat what Link would have called a dwarf in a purple suit.

To be more accurate, the dwarf was actually sleeping, nestled in some crevice with a mouldy old blanket to protect it from an invisible wind. It blinked blearily when the lights appeared, scratched its beard and adjusted its suit before staring at the newcomers.

Cid stared in horror at the bearded dwarf. "Wha' the 'ell is that thing? It's hideous!" Link would have agreed if not for how rude it would have been. The beard seemed to be growing some mould of its own, and when he squinted he was sure he could see something crawling inside. The squat man had layers of dirt painted across its scalp, and one eye was a dull brown and the other a vibrant blue. Its jaws came off at jagged angles, and overall its entire body seemed to be made of shrivelled slabs of wood nailed by poor craftsmanship. Its skin seemed mottled with a odd blue colour, and to top it off it had to wear a purple tuxedo. It was definitely not the epitome of beauty.

The dwarf looked at Cid, but didn't look like it comprehended what he said. This was good, since it had an array of muskets and rifles next to it and probably wouldn't have been pleased by his words.

"Now, this poor guy must have lived here since this place was made," Aeris chided gently with a look of mild disapproval, "I'm sure people don't look that good when they've spent hundreds of years stuck in some underground cave." Link coughed loudly, and she flicked her glance at him. "Even Link here looked like a famished skeleton with bugging eyes!"

"I didn't have 'bugging eyes'," Link muttered huffily, "and I wasn't that skinny."

Aeris brushed off his comments and said cheerfully, "This must be another Cetra guardian!" Turning around to face the guardian, she knelt down and tried to converse with it. The effort seemed to be a moot point, since it still stared blankly and didn't utter back.

Link sighed and called out to Aeris, "I don't think it understands you. It might have, but the centuries spent in isolation meant that it probably forgot how to speak and listen. The Jemnezmys above at least had those 8-Eyes to talk to, and I was, um, 'suspended' by the molten lava."

Vincent was about to turn around, when a glitter behind the dwarf caught his eye. Striding forward, he was about to pick it up when the dwarf, with some strength still preserved through the ages, slapped his hand aside. It opened its mouth, struggled a bit before closing it. Giving up, it plucked out the ether bottle and holding it with one hand, opened its other with the palm facing up.

Cloud stared incredulously. "A… merchant?" Almost curiously he passed a few silver pieces to the dwarf, who took them and scrutinised them. Dropping them on the floor it slapped its open palm against its suit and stretched out its hand again.

Red XIII laughed. "It looks like it doesn't like being short-changed. How much does an ether cost?" With a flick of his nose he passed over a thousand silver pieces. The dwarf took its time sorting through the money, before handing them the ether and two hundred change.

"A mouldy ol' merchant in de middle of a Temple," Cid muttered, "Now Ah've seen everythin'." The dwarf didn't pay attention to him, instead turning around to pull out its stocks from the mud it sank in. Even though it cared little about its own grimey state, it brushed its wares in an attempt to make them look more presentable.

Link looked at the dwarf strangely. "What would he need with money? I don't think he can spend it here."

Cloud shrugged. "Who cares?" With that he promptly started the exchange of goods for gold, replenishing their stocks of healing potions. Waving farewell, they left, returning back to the large, spiralling staircase to descend in its hollow emptiness.

Barret's stomach rumbled, amazingly echoing off the far walls. "I wish that thing had something ta eat."

Vincent smiled. "If he did, it would be incredibly stale. Be thankful you haven't toppled to indigestion yet." Cait Sith fished around the bag for a while before tossing to Barret a tuna sandwich.

Back walking in what appeared to be endless navigation, they fell back into the silence that occupied them earlier on. Yuffie was trying to entertain herself by bouncing a stick against the wall, and Barret caught on and was creating a rhythm of his own by rapping it with his metal arm instead. The silence swallowed the sounds greedily, drinking any wasted energy on their part, and soon the tapping grew half-hearted.

"This is getting real borin', real fast." Cid grumbled to himself as Yuffie gave up and stabbed the stick into some soft clay section of the wall. "We've walked for too long, it's getting' dull. Do we even look closer to the bloody clock thing? No!" He muttered a few curses under his breath, grabbing a loose stone and throwing it off the walkway. A low whistling sound came from its accelerated descent, but just when they were expecting it to land… it didn't.

"Well, that tells us a lot." Red XIII sighed, shaking his head in bemusement. Rolling his shoulders, he frowned distastefully at the steps they were going down. "We definitely have a lot more to cover before we reach the bottom."

They fell back to the companionship of their steps, trudging on in unhappy boredom. Aeris had to pass her staff over to Tifa for a moment so she could replenish her magic before taking back the mantle of warding off the overwhelming gravity of the place, but that was the most excitement they had for another two hours, if you excluded Vincent accidentally tripping over a worn away step twice.

Yuffie had returned back to the wall, and was drumming her fingers lightly against it as they passed. Suddenly she stopped, an almost desperate look on her face. "Guys," she said slowly when they realised she wasn't moving, "we have a problem."

Taking her hand off the wall, she exposed the stick she had plunged in earlier.

Link laughed. "Amazing," he said through his chuckles, "simply amazing."

Cloud was clasping his head in his palm, and seemed on the verge of tearing some hair out. "Circles. We've been going in blasted circles."

Cid passed the verge, and a few freed hairs floated down to the ground. "There're expletives the Gods wished never existed, and sum'o them come ta mind."

Link looked at the falling hairs curiously, and without explanation moved to the side of the walkway. Extending his hand out blindly, he waved it around for a few seconds before pulling it back in. Returning to the group, he tossed a small stone to Cid. "I believe you dropped this," he said as a smile tugged his lips, soaking in their disbelieving expressions.

"This. Isn't. Funny." Vincent growled. Link could only smile deeper. "I've come free of my eternal punishment only to fall back into eternal punishment? No wonder we went nowhere."

Tifa looked at Link curiously. "How'd you know?" she asked, gesturing to the rock.

Link shrugged. "Call it a hunch. I'm sure that those Jemnezmys earlier on were asking us questions on time for a reason." Breaking out into laughter again, he waited for it to subside before continuing, "It appears they were more relevant than we thought. Eternity colliding with infinity – we're probably bouncing backwards and forwards in space whilst time takes its sweet time. Heh. We're going nowhere, and nowhen. I wonder how Sephiroth got through this," Link added with a bit of thought.

Cloud wasn't as impressed with the levity of the situation. "That's great to know. Now, any ideas on how to get out of this fix?"

Red XIII looked contemplatively at the edge of the walkway. "I'd be tempted to say we jump off the walkway, and see what happens. My only fear with that is that we'll end up like the stone – always falling."

Link shrugged. "Alas, I used to know some of Farore's magic – the spell _Quelst__ Farore_ involved something about bouncing through space and shrinking down time – pretty much a teleportation spell, or a speed-up thing. It could even be inverted to slow things down. A pity I forgot – maybe dabbling with time magic might help here."

Aeris looked speculative at the prospect. "The Cetra also had some magic that could do the same things you mentioned." Glancing at Tifa, she asked, "Do you have the Time Materia? Maybe we could try something."

Tifa nodded, pulling the requested Materia out of the mail shirt she wore underneath. While Materia was connected to armour and weapons for quick calling, you could pull out more results if you actually held it and concentrated looking at it. Looking at Link, she inquired what he suggested they do – after all, he was the one that came up with the idea, and he was the oldest, so some time magic must have been protecting him, despite no one being able to see it.

Link shrugged again. "I have no idea, on that. Maybe you can do what Aeris is doing, and cast your 'haste' spell on the ground or us while we're walking. Or maybe 'stop', it really gets confusing here. Just do anything, it can't hurt to try."

Tifa flicked her gaze back down to the green Materia, pooling her thoughts through her arms and into the gem. It glowed so softly that only Link with his lifestream attuned vision could see, and she could almost here unspoken voices, asking of her wish, and granting.

It was nearly imperceptible, but everyone else could feel a slightly different stir in the air: something like the warning you'd get when someone was about to cast a time spell on you, but much dampened. They looked at Tifa expectantly as her magic swirled into a cohesive order, throbbing with her pulse through the air that surrounded them. Cloud, at the front, was about to take the first step in the time fired mass of space…

… When Tifa suddenly fell down with a barely contained cry of pain, the Materia bouncing around the stone floor and off the walkway.

"'It can't hurt to try', you say?" she wheezed as Cait Sith and Cloud helped her back to her feet, the former handing her a tonic, "If I wasn't about to fall back to the ground, I'd strangle you for that comment. In fact, come here so I can grab your neck."

"Sorry about that, I really wasn't expecting that to happen." He apologised sincerely, looking a bit disappointed. "I almost thought it was going to work."

Vincent rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Yes, it makes a bit of sense now – how else could this Temple store so much space in so little area without its discovery? It managed to warp the space around it to contain its gravitational field. This might explain why the dwarf cannot talk, but the others can: it may have been a few hundred years for the Jemnezmys, but maybe millennia for the dwarf."

"So now what?" Yuffie asked, gesturing around. Link went back to the side again, stuck his hand out and caught the time Materia that fell. "There must be something we should be able to do. There has to be a way to get out of this fix: all puzzles are made to be solved!"

The breaking of physics, the pompous disregard of the laws that governed the world: that was this place. Link had to give credit to the Cetra who made it, for if it was made after Jenova it meant after the Golden Age and with a dwindling population. Then again, he was the one who taught the remaining few bits of time magic, as well as shield magic. They already had Din's Fire, or a variation of it, long before he arrived. What did they call it here? Flare, Firaga? In his humble opinion, it was not a very creative name.

Breaking out of his considerations of magic, Link saw that Yuffie was sitting on the edge of the walkway, watching a twig drop away from view and then return from above, contemplating what it might suggest. Barret was filling the silence with occasional gun cracks, as he tried to see whether the time/space effect was just held in by the rocks. Red XIII was conversing with Aeris on possible answers, and Cid was taking the time – all eternal moments of it – to enjoy a cigarette.

"You really shouldn't smoke, you know," Tifa said to Cid, "it's really not helping your reflexes. You're going to die from tarred lungs before anything else." Cid's reply was a ring of smoke her direction.

Waving the offending creation away, Tifa looked dissatisfied at Cid. "Ah, it's hopeless. What do you find so fun about such a smelly activity? I mean, if I was to do it, which I won't, I'd prefer it to smell something like lavender than… that stuff."

Cid just glanced at her. "Female thinking. Ha, you'd be surprised how many women breathe this stuff. It's bad, it's good." Smirking at her frown, he blew another smoke shape at her, but this time in the shape of a waving streamer. Tifa coughed, made a disgruntled sound, and left.

Link wasn't the only one watching the exchange. When he looked back at the walkway, in the darkness and barely visible, another dwarf was watching with what appeared to be fascination at Cid's smoke rings. Unlike its previous counterpart, this one was a lot cleaner, and seemed a bit more youthful, despite still having a grey beard.

Link nudged Cait Sith, who happened to be the closest being, and pointed at the dwarf who hadn't noticed them watching. Thankfully the dwarf was too enraptured in Cid's exhalations to notice Cait Sith squint its direction. Discretion was probably the best thing, given that nothing will hide unless it didn't want to be seen.

Alas, Cait Sith didn't see it that way. Raising a furry arm, he called out loudly, "Hello there! Would you mind helping us?" His shout was a good thing, and a bad thing. It managed to alert everyone of the dwarf's presence, but also scared the thing off. Glancing one more time at Cid's puffs of smoke it started to scuttle away.

"Our way out and I'm not losing it!" Cloud shouted, slinging his sword back and running after the fleeing form. Cid stumbled back to his feet and tossed his cigarette aside and after stamping out the fire created on the moss ran after them.

If anyone had noticed, which no one did, too intent on the purple dwarf, they would have seen walls slide out of view, creating tunnels, steps materialising in gaps in space and darkness dissolving away to reveal a new portal. As it were, only Vincent noticed that they were sprinting on mid-air at one point, and Red XIII managing to flick his glance to see the scenery flash faster than it should have been at that speed.

After a few minutes of sprinting, Cloud came close enough to have been able to pick up the dwarf by the scruff of its neck. It managed to do some fancy cartwheel, jumping away from his grasp and attached to the ceiling, started running on it. With a flip it was back onto normal ground, and with a final glance at them, it pulled on a large brass switch.

"Well," Barret panted, leaning against the wall, "Ah'm definitely outta shape. Blasted thing moves too fast fer stumpy legs." Now that they stopped, everyone was taking the time to show signs of their exertion, minus Yuffie, Red XIII and Tifa.

"Ah'm still hungry too," Barret continued, "Ah can hear me belly afta all that runnin'."

Vincent rolled his eyes. "So can I. Please, find something to eat: it's very distracting."

Link took the time to lie down, dropping his body to the ground and splaying it to allow the maximum surface area for cooling. The ground shook slightly, vibrating with the sounds of Barret's stomach.

"I don't think it's your stomach," Link muttered, eyes narrowing to concentrate on the vibrations. "What did that dwarf do? Run on the ceiling and hit a switch…"

Cloud inhaled deeply to break down the lactic acid. "Yeah, so what? What does that have to do with Barret's stomach?"

From their position in the corridor, the sounds and vibrations got larger, and Cid managed to peek down the passageway.

"Oh &£$!" He swore heavily, and pulled back just in time to avoid a giant boulder from grinding down his face. Link however hadn't moved yet, and to the horror of everyone watching, stayed in his lying position as the boulder ran over him.

"_LINK!_" Aeris screamed, expecting a flattened form of the oldest being alive. But as the group rushed closer, they were surprised to find him merely confused, but unharmed.

"Wow," Yuffie stated, poking Link's chest in disbelief, "I didn't know you came with stone skin. That thing looked heavy enough to churn you into paste!"

"I don't," Link mumbled back, "there's a rivet in the boulder, large enough to fit a standing person. The boulder never touched me."

As an experiment, he stood up and waited, ushering the others back. As expected another boulder rolled along, and his predictions were right. Returning unscathed from the operation, he explained his findings to the group.

"These boulders are U-shaped things," he told them, gesturing with his arms, "and they all fall in the same pattern. I saw the dwarf guy on the other side too – he seemed to be waiting for us. I think that if one person can get across, that person can deactivate these boulders."

Given that it was Link who discovered it, believed he knew the pattern and managed to survive what looked like being squished, he was the one chosen to run across. He had to leave his sword with Aeris, since with distance her anti-gravity spell will weaken and he couldn't afford to be slowed down.

With a grin he tapped his foot three times before dashing forward, taking the time to admire the well chiselled shape of the boulder. Link wondered whether this place would ever run out of them. Speeding up slightly he curled into a roll, managing to fit through the gap just in time. His momentum resulted in him accidentally smashing his nose into the receding rock wall, but that was the only injury he received from his dash across the passageway.

The dwarf hadn't moved, and even conveniently turned off the trap as Link approached him. It stayed as the group arrived, displaying none of its frightened demeanour earlier.

"Strange, this guy's not 'fraid no more," Barret mumbled, attempting to discreetly glance at the dwarf. Given their stature differences, it ended up being pretty blatant with him hunching slightly and twisting so that his shoulder didn't obstruct his view.

"Maybe he wasn't frightened in the first place," Red XIII mused, "maybe he was there to show us the way out. A guide, if you will."

Without fear of falling boulders, everyone could now appreciate the room more appropriately. The ground, walls and ceiling were surprisingly smooth, as if a thousand men had spent centuries rubbing down the rock until no edge remained. No moss grew, but lighting was provided courtesy of a glowing fountain.

Aeris was the first to reach it, looking at the pristine reflection it returned. Curiously she tried gazing at it from different angles, but no matter where she looked she couldn't find the source of light beneath the water. Gravity Materia held in one hand, she used the other to touch the surface.

And the surface touched back.

With a gasp she withdrew her hand, the ripples from her disturbances rolling across the water's tension. Two delicate hands slowly formed, and between them coalesced what could only be described as a glowing disc, a rotating sheet of water.

"What on Earth is that?" Tifa asked as she approached. Reacting to her presence, or maybe her words, the disc expanded into a globe, and the light streaming through it refracted off its curved surface, releasing a pattern of colours.

It only took a few moments for everyone to realise it was showing a room with inscribed walls, but more importantly the two Turks inside. The pool in which the globe originated from thrummed like a liquid amplifier, releasing sound from its vibrating tremors.

"The Temple of the Ancients," Tseng breathed, passing his hand across the wall writings, "who could believe it would be so complex? Truly, we have underestimated the Cetra."

Elena crouched down to examine closer the lower inscriptions, humming in agreement. "Yes, well, we managed to get through. Things are good."

"Yes, we've nearly achieved our goal. Perhaps when it has been completed, we should adjourn without the others some place else."

"You're asking me out?" Elena asked, blinking owlishly.

Tseng raised his eyebrow. "Perhaps, but for now we must crack this wall puzzle."

"Alas, it will probably crack you." A deeper voice responded. The Turks twirled around, and the globe shuddered as Sephiroth seemed to _dissolve_ into view.

He chuckled darkly at their startled expressions, splitting into two impressions of himself. One stood to the side, blankly watching the wall, while the other floated around the two, talking almost amicably.

"The Planet's a beautiful thing, no?" He commented, drawing a circle in the air, "it is the sustenance of life, the embodiment of the greatest power there can ever be. That power… energy… it's only worthy of one with the Planet." Smirking he floated back to his counterpart, observing the wall. "I shall become one with the Planet."

Laughing forbiddingly the clone disappeared, only to reappear right next to Tseng. With a jump the Turk stumbled back, warily watching both forms. "My strength is great, far greater than you can comprehend," Sephiroth sneered, "but it's only the touch of the living. For greater might, I need to wield the energies from death… the Planet must consume me, for me to consume it. In great harmony, I will be all powerful, omnipotent. A god."

"Hardly," Tseng scoffed, his eyes flicking in between both clones, "you'll just be a forgotten patch of soil."

Sephiroth smiled, both clones flashing as they seemed to slither through the air. As fast as Tseng was, he was no match for two of Sephiroth, and with a choked gurgle was thrown to the side, a giant sword sticking through his abdomen. From the distance of watching, Link wondered if that was how they found Tseng in the beginning.

"The Promised Land," Sephiroth chuckled softly, "is a dream of once was. The Promised Land, is the future in my fist. Heaven is through Purgatory." With a mocking bow to the shocked Elena, Sephiroth faded away.

No one spoke for a moment as the globe and supporting hands collapsed, falling back into the fountain without a splash. For a moment the light from it intensified, before dropping down to its previous levels.

"Sephiroth…" Cloud muttered shaking his head, "has to be stopped. I am tired of dealing with him, and its best if we put a stop to him now." Flexing his hands in anticipation, he glanced once more at the still waters before turning around. "Come on guys, he shouldn't have left yet, and the sooner this is over, the better."

Everyone followed Cloud's example and followed behind him. Before they could leave, the dwarf tugged at Link's trouser leg. Confused, he turned and squatted to meet the dwarf face to face. This one faced the same speaking impairments of the first one, shaking its head before gesticulating. Cupping its hands, it raised it to its lips and leaned back and then pointed to the pool everyone was standing around earlier.

"Drink?" Link muttered, copying the dwarf's action to make certain he got what the dwarf was saying. It nodded, and repeated the motions again. It seemed impatient with Link just standing there, and started pulling him over.

"What about the others?" Link asked, pointing to the departing group. He could still see Cait Sith's back, but the increasing weight of his sword proved they were still moving further away. The dwarf shook its head, and insistently tugged Link towards the pool.

Sensing his incomprehension, it sipped a bit of the water before pointing for Link to follow. Wary, he cupped a small amount in his hands and raised the water to his mouth.

**_Flash_**

_Water.__ The country was under water. People called for their Hero, but he did not come. He could not come. The Goddesses had answered their prayers, and drowned the lands. _

_The skies cried for what happened, for what was to come. But they would not let this new evil conquer the land. Tears of sorrow, tears of bitterness, and tears of resilience… the country will survive. The Hero will be born again._

**_Flash_**

_A little island.__ A little boy. A shield, placed on the living room wall as decoration. An old lady reciting the tales of the Hero. Heroes come and go, born mighty and born low. The last one left, a new one is in need. The people cry for help, so the Goddesses plant the seed. Let the tree grow, under the care of life. End this war, end this fight, end this strife. Bearer of Courage, you are gone. The world shall wait, eyes weary and forlorn._

**_Flash_**

_"The past, is past," Zelda sighed, rocking her twelve year old frame gently on the banister she sat on. "The power to change it is one desired, but should never be deserved." Smiling at my incomprehension, she laughed lightly and patted his head. "You'll understand, don't worry: you've been given the power."_

_"I'm no child," I replied in mock irritation, ruffling the hair she touched, "you don't have to treat me like I'm one."_

_She raises her eyebrow, and her lips twitch, restraining against a larger smile. I paused to consider what I said, and smile ruefully with her._

_I don't know why she always lets me visit. My job was my job. It was done, and that's it. Whatever her reasons, I'm glad for the company, and I guess she is too._

**_Flash_**

_One thousand years. I've searched for one thousand years, and could never find you._

_Who are you? How do you know me?_

_A bitter laugh.__ The feminine voice chokes back what could have been a sob. Yes, I forgotten you forsaken us, as we forsaken you. You will remember me in Time: it is of no importance. _

_What do you want with me?_

_A sigh, accompanied by a faint tingling.__ The lady shook her head, and small bells rang. Want… I have no right to want anything from you. Not now, not evermore. I'm glad you're alive. If I am to want anything, is for you to come home._

_What… what's going on?_

_A vision swirls, twirling and flowing to reveal green. People flash in his mind. Zelda. Malon. Darunia. Ruto. Rauru. Nabooru. Impa. Mido. Anju. Navi. Shael. We all wait for you, although many have undergone death and rebirth while you were away. Mido, Navi and Shael miss Saria too. Come home to them, to us, to me. Come home._

_Who are you?_

_Thank the Faermin for me. He heard of my search, and has aided me reach you. Listen to the voices of the Cetra, those that lost the ability to speak. Who would have expected? One thousand years, and galaxies away… Come home, if you can. Come home._

_… Farore?_

**_Flash_**

Link stumbled back, almost choking as the water flowed down his gullet. The dwarf… Faermin looked at him silently as he staggered around, the hail of images in so little time pressing harshly on his mind.

'You alright kid?' The Faermin's lips didn't move, but Link knew no one else who might have spoken.

"Yeah, I think so. I'm slightly over a millennium old, you know," Link replied, dazedly shaking his head. What had happened?

The Faermin snorted. 'Whatever you say then, gramps. I wish I aged as well as you. Twice my age and four times the looks: some people just have all the luck. Hope you had a good chat.'

Link blinked, trying to clear his mind. "Thanks, I guess. Sorry, but I must go now."

'Wait.' When Link turned back, the Faermin placed a small stone in Link's palm. 'You might need this. The strange guy with white hair dropped this earlier.' With a wave, it shooed Link away.

Link smiled. "Thanks then, and… whoever I talked to, thanks you as well. You're a nice guy." Jogging back to where the group were – they stopped, he could tell since his sword didn't get any heavier – he waved apologetically at them.

"What took you so long?" Tifa demanded, arms placed at her waist. "We thought you were doing an ancient ritual among Ancients, and were about to come down as well. What's that you're holding?"

"Sorry," he apologised, "the thing just wanted to say a few things to me." Opening his hand, it held a green Materia, and from the swirling of life energy he saw inside, it dealt with physical form.

"A morph Materia," Cloud remarked, "aren't they getting more generous. Well, now that you're here, let's go."

As they walked, Link's mind was buzzing with questions. Was the person talking to him really Farore? What was the part about the island for? He could vaguely remember getting a dream some centuries earlier that said something about a flood… maybe those two were connected? And the people… people he once knew, people he nearly forgot… their faces were now branded in his mind, and he fixed a name to each of them, trying to make sure he'll never forget. What was that about Saria, Jenova? What was that about coming home? How?

Before he could assimilate any answers the group stopped, and laid out before them was the giant clock face they saw before from above. From the distance the second hand looked like it moved slowly, but up close it seemed to swing across the surface, completing each gigantic revolution under a minute.

Now that they were closer, they could see that all the hours were linked to gates of their own. Perfectly identical in appearance, they all had the same stone arch above and etched detailed pillars supporting. It was only due to roman numerals printed at their base that allowed the group to see one from the other. Aeris peered at their own gate, and saw it was no exception to the rule.

"Well, proposed taken action?" Vincent asked as everyone tried to read the time the clock read. One fifty.

Cait Sith mewled in thought before shrugging. "Well, let's just visit that gate for hour one. It's the best I can come up with." Some of the group sent him apprehensive looks, but ended up agreeing.

It was a real acrobatic stunt to move to the gate with the number one. The first had to run across the minute hand that pointed to the ten they stood on, jump over the second hand as it approached and brace themselves each time as the minute hand moved slightly. Cid nearly fell off, but was luckily saved by Yuffie tripping over a stumbling Barret and so kindly giving her ankle for him to grasp onto. After much cursing and swearing, they had to run across the hour hand and dived off the hands onto the ground just before the arm moved.

"This better have bin worth it," Cid snarled, wiping the sweat sheen on his brow and rubbing his hand against his trousers. "Way too much pain for my liking."

"Pain? Ha! You might want to hear my definition of pain!" Yuffie retorted, rubbing her sore foot. "I'd like to see what you'd do if a sixty kilo slug held onto your leg."

"Well, that's nothin' to a drop down nowhere!" Cid growled, pointing at the bottomless chasm he might have fallen in. "If yer so inclined, I'd happily throw you down and you tell me what yer think!"

The two sniped back and forth as they progressed down the passageway, with occasional attempts by Aeris to break up their fight. The room ended with a dead end, but here a Jemnezmy stood curled in foetus position against the wall and two 8-Eyes rolled. Their bantering alerted the three to their presence, and her mouth moved in silent words.

The others couldn't hear her – she was another one who lost her ability to speak in the distortion of time. But Link could.

'Trespassers must die!'

_-S-_

A/N: Well, wasn't that fun? Slightly longer than I wanted it to be, but then again I think I ended it decently enough.

I really didn't like the part with the boulder… didn't create enough hype or suspense as our main character gets squished. Alas, that's a fault I'll correct in the future. Maybe some of you can give me a few pointers? And while you're at it, you could correct Vincent's attitude as well – I know he's meant to act slightly weird (at least I think he should), but I never got him until late into the game, so I don't really know.

Well, as always, comment, criticise, commend and all other stuff you can do with the review button. I'll be trying to crank out my other story's chapter if possible – must get it done before I move again (me, the auguring shadow, me, the whispering tale, me, the herald of existence)! If had a 'donate' button, I'd ask you to do that as well, but as it is a well rounded critique or comment is all that I hope for. Thank you.


	11. Chapter 10

A/N: The problem with my style of updates (alternate between this story and the next) is that I usually forget what happens the last time. Alas, it is my fear of neglect due to favouritism that forces me to do as such. Does anyone have a better suited system?

Chapter 10:

_Link choked back a cough as he shovelled away the small patch of earth designated as Shael's grave. Like Navi before, the fairy fell to the unknown disease that not even Saria, with her ancient knowledge on medicine, could determine. _

_At least they managed to move to another planet, one without an army set on killing them. They hoped to find a doctor, anyone with the glimpses of medical knowledge, to help cure Shael. The country they landed in was embroiled in civil war, and nearly everyone who could read had been killed off. No foreigners dared set a foot in until the war subsided, which probably will be when the last man falls dead. At least no one paid any attention to the aliens, so intent on plunging their weapons into their brothers, neighbours, and friends._

_Link wished he could say that Shael's death was quick and painless. Wincing as he spat out a dark globule of blood, he remembered how the fairy convulsed in his fevered dream, dying in a strangled sigh as clotting sealed the blood from the brain. The only thing Saria could hope was that the heavy fever inflicted detached Shael from the pain wracking his body._

_And now it seemed it was Link's turn to bear the disease. Saria was caught in her own woes, and he didn't want to trouble her with what started with just heavy coughing. At present she was whittling away at a large chunk of wood, trying to create an expanded form of Shael, immortalising his features in the last refuge she had. Biting back a groan from the searing pain in his chest, Link returned his gaze to the shovel, resuming his digging._

_Saria__ had to rely on memory to reconstruct Shael's characteristics, the disease shredding away any aesthetic dignity of its victims. Skin would alternate between paling and blotching, hair either shrivelling and falling or greying and falling limp. Navi didn't suffer as badly, but Shael suffered the ultimate injury to a fairy as days before death his wings fell off. Resilient and fairly accepting of his impending demise, he spent the days after crying, crippled hands always returning to pat where his wings would have rested._

_Link wondered what the disease would do to him. He already gave it a name, the Void-bearer. Somehow it managed to live through the non-existence of space to contact and affect them, and so far the only consequence from it was death. The name didn't seem to depict its true gruesomeness, but Link wasn't good with names, so Void-bearer stuck._

_He had no wings to lose, so what would he lose instead? His life seemed a given, but before, what – an arm, a leg, two? Maybe the ability to see, or speak, or hear. Navi went mute shortly after the symptoms appeared, Shael went blind in a couple of days. Maybe he'll follow the pattern and go deaf._

_Link didn't have much time to ponder upon that as Saria came up, putting a tender hand on his forearm. Blinking, he didn't have the energy to resist Saria as she gently remove the shovel from his grip. "Stei sri ester," /Get some rest/ she said soothingly, forcing a smile._

_Link glanced at her work before returning to her eyes, green eyes dry of tears and suppressing sorrow. "Maire tes zeirs…?" /But the statue…/ He made an attempt to take back the shovel, but with a slow headshake and a gentle nudge of his arm Saria kept the spade._

_"Ce'fue contlai," /It is done/ she said softly, with her free hand guiding Link away from the grave. "Stei sri ester." /Get some rest./_

_Another sliver of pain shot through his chest, and Link stood quiet for a while before responding. "Maire…" /But…/_

_His sentence wasn't finished as with a clank Saria dropped the shovel and suddenly hugged him, tears soaking through his shirt. "Se nai krest vrost que," /I don't want to lose you/ she sobbed, loosening her hug when Link coughed heavily but clinging on nonetheless, "nai que, nai siluma silucron." /not you, not anyone anymore./_

_Link looked at her shuddering frame, stroking her hair. The Kokiri being ever immortal never saw death, and any close encounter would leave any shaking. Exhaling quietly he nodded, returning the hug. Saria only hugged him tighter._

_"Stei sri ester."_

_-S-_

You would imagine that if kept alive for a few centuries, your ability to do things would improve due to the repetitive nature granted from having so much time to do it. Link was an exception, being stuck inside lava, he could not move, blink or even breathe, and he sometimes questioned why he was still alive. For anyone he imagined so, with Jemnezmy they would be right, unfortunately so.

With an expletive Cloud ducked under a sudden gale of frost, withdrawing his sword and rolling back. Despite looking like it was made of jelly the 8-Eye proved resilient enough to tackle Tifa without going splash.

With a surprised shout the bash on her knee proved enough to knock her over and it was luck only that allowed her retaliatory kick to connect. It bounced back a few metres before steadying itself.

The Jemnezmy decided to dart forward, hands swinging in knife chops hardened by a layer of ice. Cid parried her rapid attacks with his spear, but some got through, chipping his armoured undercoat and those that did not spread the frost across his weapon.

"That's how ya meant to start a fight," Cid laughed, releasing a burst of fire magic to warm up his fingers, "jus' chargin' straight in without a reason." Another spout of fire got the Jemnezy to dart away, choosing to fight a more docile opponent like Aeris.

To be fair she put up a good fight, despite being weighed down by maintaining the gravity Materia managing to raise a defence against the fast thrusts. The Jemnezmy gave up with trying forcing her way past the staff, and with comical ease snatched it free from Aeris' grasp. With her free hand she grabbed Aeris' jaw, up close looking at her eye to eye. With a small smirk Jemnezmy moved away and returned the staff, jumping at a distance to launch another miniature blizzard at Red XIII.

Strangely enough Aeris didn't return to fighting, rather walking around dazedly with her eyes glazed. Suddenly she let free her hold over gravity, and everyone minus Tifa, Red XIII and Vincent were sent to the ground from the increased weight of their weapons.

"Aw crap," Barret swore, struggling to unlatch his gun arm from himself, "confusion! Aeris, snap outta it!"

Her response was to thwack his downed form with the butt of her staff before puttering away to club Vincent. It usually took a decent hit to knock someone back to proper confidences, and with Vincent struggling to raise his gun higher than knee level, he was unable to deliver such a hit.

While the group was down the 8-Eyes took the opportunity to strike hard and heavy, glowing green and siphoning the health off Yuffie and Barret, using the channelled energy to heal themselves. Barret was still stuck with his gun latch and Yuffie had yet to empty her sleeves of all her knives.

Link withdrew his own identical knife, managing with surprising strength to hurl it at one 8-Eye. It fell short, reducing its potency from a death blow to a minor injury from its bounce off the floor, but that was damaging enough that Tifa's follow-up kick killed it as well as tossing it like a football. Its failing form crashed into the unsuspecting Jemnezmy, cutting short her next Cold Breath attack.

With a snarl Red XIII shook off the small bits of ice hanging to his mane, charging forward to bite the remaining 8-Eye. It floated aside, barely missing his jaws and drained a bit more life. The insult was added upon injury when he was struck again by another of Jemnezmy's frost attacks.

With a growl he homed back onto the 8-Eye, hunched low. With a low rumble of "Sled Fang" he darted forward at previously unseen speeds, teeth rending through the offending object and carrying on. The remaining halves of the 8-Eye fell loosely against each other and dissolved away.

Wriggling free of his sword Link faced down against the Jemnezmy as Red XIII took a breather. "You're not a people person, are you?" He asked surprisingly cheerfully as they measured each other. Jemnezmy could see the swirling of incredible age around Link, yet he had not shown any special abilities.

Her expression turned from stone ruthlessness to mild confusion, wondering why he could talk to her. It quickly returned back, and with a rapid combo of hand chops she replied with a solemn, 'All intruders must die.'

"Hey, but we're good intruders! Can't we get off for that?" Flipping back to dodge the edges of ice coating her forearms, Link accidentally bumped into Aeris. A quick duck allowed him to dodge her careless swing of the staff, and he quickly pedalled another direction.

The Jemnezmy scowled, arm shooting forward for a palm strike. 'I said, all intruders must die – good or ill is not mine to judge.' With his back close to the walls Link didn't have much space to avoid, so instead clapped his hands around her wrist, halting her attack that way. The manoeuvre sent him skipping away though, rubbing his palms furiously against his trouser legs to get some heat back into them.

A quick glance around showed that Cloud was still on the ground, his sword crushing his right shoulder underneath it. Barret had given up on freeing his gun arm, and was instead trying to pivot around it to aim. Yuffie, who still had her giant shuriken on her back, had not managed to get up properly and was doing all she could to not breathe dirt. The final 8-Eye was being volleyed around by Tifa and Red XIII, and Vincent was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, Aeris here is a Cetra, or at least part Cetra. She's not an intruder," Link tried to reason, turning around to point at the said girl. Blinking at her swaying form, he suddenly realised his mistake and with a sigh rolled to the side, avoiding a hit by Jemnezmy's Cold Breath.

Aeris wasn't in the proper state of mind to dodge it however, and got the beating up front. Gasping from the waves of cold, she rubbed the frost off her face and looked around. "What am I doing…?" she asked softly, looking at her companions stuck on the ground. Looking up showed the Jemnezmy standing there, a forlorn expression on her face.

'A Cetra… daughter?' she whispered softly, and only Link could here. Before he could relay that to Aeris though, Vincent dropped from the place he was hiding and with an expertise flip landed behind the still form of Jemnezmy. With fluid motion he raised his gun to heart height and darting his eyes around for any possible interference, fired.

There was not the spray of blood that Link imagined, just the lady crumpling onto the ground, eyes blank and body slowly dissolving. 'Daughter, the One Winged Angel… is near… flee…' Before her body fully dissipated, she managed a small smile.

"That was how you start a fight," Vincent chuckled, twirling his pistol back into its holster, "but this is how you end it." Looking at his metallic claw arm, he wriggled it with an impressed whistle. "I don't know whether I should thank Hojo for using light alloys," he muttered, flicking his eyes at Cloud's sword, "but the very least this thing is great for clinging onto ceilings."

"Yeah, sure," Cait Sith mewed, "I'm made of partially of metallic fibres, and I'm still down here. Aeris, a bit of help?" She was brushing off the rest of the moisture from her dress front, and mouth shaped in a little 'o' nodded and went hunting for where she dropped the gravity Materia.

Once the issue of weight was resolved, it was time to cure the injured of their injuries. Most of these didn't come from the opponents themselves, but from Aeris releasing her hold over gravity. With a gritted grunt Cloud winced as the potion and Tifa's magic knitted his shoulder bones back together rapidly, Barret just shrugged as his muscle strains were cured, but Yuffie was a bit more expressive with her broken ribs.

"Ow, you sadistic woman, are you trying to kill me?" she yelled at Tifa, who absorbed it good-naturedly. "Fix the bones, damn it, not stab my lungs! That's tuberculosis you're giving me, not medicine! Goddamn you guys, how can you take it without even blinking?" Her final comment was directed at the men.

Cid shrugged as he downed his own bottle of tonic. "Thirty percent alcohol," he muttered, raising his drink. Taking another swig he handed it over to Barret who accepted it with a grunt.

Once everybody was remedied and Tifa's magic replenished, it was time to examine their current position. "Well," Red XIII said at length, "we know that not all clock arms are going to help us, at least."

Cloud nodded, looking at the second hand tick. "So, what's our best bet? It's not like we have any indication which one's are bad."

Caith Sith raised his hand diffidently. "I could use my raffle system, if you like – it's better than pure chance."

"Yeah, but not by much," Barret grumbled. Nonetheless there didn't seem to be any other way of deciding, and without preamble Cait Sith pulled out his raffle box, rotated it several times and withdrew a ticket.

"Well, that's strange," he commented, "it says 'improvements come under the adjacent four of six, yet it is the multiples of six that multiply progress.' Very useful, that."

Red XIII hummed as he stared at the gate with the roman numeral for six. "Well, the four closest would appear to be gates four, five, seven and eight. The time's one fifteen: we have time to reach gate four."

Through their mad dash across the clock face, jumping over the moving second hand, they never thought of the question why time moved forwards eleven hours in their battle time to return from two o'clock back to one. When that question was finally asked, a few theories of will and the Temple's distortion over space and time cropped up, but Link ended it with a simple "Who cares? It works."

By improvements, it ended up to be a bunch of items strewn across the place. Barret tripped over a lump in the ground, his fall displacing the dust to reveal the most garbled trumpet. While everyone was trying to ignore Cait Sith's happy hooting, Cid grabbed a rock to throw at the cat, but it disintegrated to become an elixir. After discreetly adding his '30 alcohol' and pocketing it, they came across a new weapon for Aeris (cruelly plunged into the ribs of a skeleton). The strangest 'improvement' was when the gate brought them back to the maze earlier.

"Hmm," Tifa sounded as Yuffie picked open the lock, "what's this? A ribbon?"

"Meh," Yuffie muttered, pooling out the surprisingly clean fabric from the chest, "just a bit of junk. I was hoping for something more useful."

It looked like a very expensive piece of junk to Link though. As he handed it down the line, he could feel its silky texture and see up close the ornate patterns sewed on and yet not damaging the touch. It wasn't a long piece of fabric, stretching only from Link's wrist to his shoulder (although a bit of tugging proved it could extend further). It eventually ended up in Cloud's hands to decide what to do with it.

"Seems a waste ta just throw away," Cid commented, jabbing the ribbon with his spear. Luckily Cloud didn't hold it too tight, and the fabric just folded around the sharp point. Aeris reprimanded him with a light hit.

"True," Cloud agreed, unconsciously wrapping the ribbon around his fist, "so… who wants it?"

Red XIII declined despite his usual attraction to hair trinkets, given that it looked like it was of little battle use. Tifa liked her hair free; Yuffie didn't have enough hair (although Barret received a real beating when he said that) so it ended up with Aeris.

"Hey Link," she asked, gingerly replacing her little Materia bead from its previous hold into the new one, "why don't you tie your hair?"

Link shrugged. "I don't know… I never did so before. Where I came from, all the children didn't bother to tie their hair." Link scratched his head, dimly remembering that he used to wear a cap. "I'll definitely need to wash it though."

When they returned to the clock face, they were surprised to see a Faerun there. Not that they knew its name, but like all the others it appeared more or less the same. Under a bit of scrutiny Link could tell that this wasn't the same one as before.

'The key, the key, the key,' it chanted silently, almost sneering at the others that could not hear it. 'I have the key.'

"Key? What do we need a key for?" Link asked, raising an eyebrow. The others were strangely quiet.

'You need this key to be free of the maze you'll soon see,' it cackled, hopping up and down over the clock handles, achieving amazing leaps over great distances. 'You need this key, but you can't catch me!' Mockingly it saluted to them in mid-air before changing its trajectory and ran through the sixth gate.

"Well, that one's a strange one," Link sighed, turning around to look at the group. "We'll have to chase it down – why are you staring at me?"

The word 'you' didn't fully encompass the numbers that were staring, given that everyone was. A few with their mouths open, it took a while for them to assemble and Tifa to ask, "Where the heck did you learn to understand it?"

Link blinked. "You didn't ask during the fight, so I assumed you knew. My bad, forgot I didn't tell you." Turning back to the clock face, he gestured for them to follow. "The other purple dwarf got me to drink the fountain's water, which did wonders for my ears, and we need to catch this one for a key of some sort. You guys coming?"

If anyone noticed, they would have found that the clock hands weren't moving, and where the Faerun had to jump to get to the gate, the hands mysteriously were properly aligned for them to run there. No one noticed, Link caught up in trying to regain the lost time spent explaining, Yuffie wondering why she followed common sense and didn't drink the water, Cid cursing the last cigarette and the rest still pondering on Link's newfound skills.

What they did notice however was how long it seemed to take to just reach the gate, as the arms seemed to subliminally grow longer, and when they finally arrived everyone was panting for breath.

'Tired, tired, you're all tired,' the Faerun popped up suddenly, bouncing off Cloud's back and scampering off, 'work for me and you'll be fired!'

"Oh, shut up with the rhymes," Link groaned, rubbing his temples.

'Stop rhyming, stop rhyming, so who's trying?' It chuckled gleefully, 'I have the key, and you can't catch me!' With another salute, it pirouetted off Barret's head and scuttled further in.

Their chase led them to a strange room, filled with glowing doors. The Faerun waved at them and jumped into one. 'Follow me if you can, you'll never know where I ran!'

That proved true enough, as following him through the door he came from always resulted in them being behind him when he ran off again. Given that this tactic wasn't working, Cloud called the group in for a better strategy.

"Well, there are ten of us and…" he broke of to look back at the room, "around twenty doors, so if we each went to one door each, we got roughly a half chance of nabbing the dwarf thing. Agreed?" Purely random luck of course, but no one could think of a better alternative.

The first try failed, the Faerun dancing out of a door between Yuffie and Aeris. With a cackle, it groped their backsides and darted off before their weapons smashed the space it stood on. 'You took your gamble and lost the result, so cover that unhappy face and suffer your pout.' Arcing around a swing by Cid, it jumped back into another door.

The second try proved more successful. In the tunnel Tifa entered, everyone else heard her shriek, a loud slap noise and after a few seconds she exited, red-faced and holding the Faerun by its ankle.

"I got the little bugger," she muttered darkly, "now what?" The Faerun squirmed to get free, and she shook it roughly.

"What happened?" Cloud asked as they all gathered around, "your face is red."

Her face reddened, whether out of embarrassment or fury Link couldn't tell. "Don't ask," she replied grimly, shaking the Faerun as a little more revenge. Her free arm raised a bit, and thinking better of it she dropped it back down. "Now what?"

Link crouched down took look at it in the face. "Well, we caught you. Key please?" he asked fairly amiably. The Faerun frowned at him, turning its head aside.

'You want the key, but you're not getting it from me.' With an adamant huff it folded its arms.

Link sighed. "Tifa, shake him." It was a command she was glad to carry out.

'W-wait! W-wait! Fine, fine, the key's not mine!' It stuttered out, trying unsuccessfully to reach inside its jacket. Link flicked his wrist, and with one final hard shake, Tifa stopped. The Faerun took a while to compose itself and handed them the key.

'The door's up there, and I must warn you: beware.'

"Yeah, yeah." Twirling the key around his index finger, he turned around to face the group. "Come on guys: we're going to that top door."

"Are we really meant to go there?" Yuffie asked, keeping her eyes on the fleeing Faerun. "I mean, it's a way to go, but is it the right one?"

"We will never know unless we go," Red XIII replied, raising an eyebrow when Link smacked his palm against his face.

"Eh, it's nothing. Just rhymes." Link muttered, rubbing his nose gingerly. As they ascended up the stairs, he tried to glean a bit more information. "So, what does histories say of Jenova?"

The answer was sharp as it was bitter. "The calamity from the skies," Aeris responded, keeping her eyes to the ground, "bringing its disease and driving the Cetra mad." Raising her head in thought, she added, "You know, the remaining bits of information always question whether Jenova was a male or female. They call it a 'he' when it promised peace, but a 'she' when it wrought its destruction."

Link nodded slowly, helping her stabilise when she nearly tripped. This room was strange in that it seemed made of compact soil, compared to the granite and marble of the rest. "Heh, they probably mistook me as part of Jenova as well. Saria was a girl." Inhaling deeply, he asked, "How was Jenova found?"

Surprisingly enough Vincent answered this. "She, as you call it, was believed an Ancient. Humans desired the powers of the Cetra, and Jenova seemed a good place to start. Dug up from the ice, studies were done on her cells and make-up to empower humans."

"Oh, and what happened?"

Vincent gave a flat smile. "I was the result, among others."

The door proved to be the embodiment of the Temple: positively ancient. After a coughing fit blowing the dust off, the next problem was fitting the shiny brass key into the rusty iron lock. With a grunt Link managed to get the key to turn halfway before it hit a snag and stopped.

"Let me try," Cloud said, stepping forward. Rolling his shoulders, he gripped the ring with both hands, and squatting slightly to lower his chest to the lock's level, applied the strength he used to swing that heavy sword around…

… Which while proved not sufficient to move the lock, was more than enough to twist the key into a messy blob.

With a grunt in the throat, Barret nudged Cloud out of the way. "Nice try, now lemmee try," he ordered, fidgeting something into his gun arm. "Y'all might wanna stand back."

Barret's bulk meant that those behind him couldn't see what he was doing, but to Tifa to his right, she had a clear view of him chugging into his gun barrel a… grenade?

"You idiot, what are you doing!" She cried, but it was too late. Satisfied with the click it made, Barret took two steps back and aiming at the lock, fired. With a cry she threw herself at the floor, raising her arms to protect her face.

The expected explosion didn't come. Warily she brought her gaze up to see the grenade wedged above the lock inside the dent in the wooden door. Relieved it was a dud, she stood up ready to give Barret an ear-boxing over brash conduct.

**_BOOM_**

The explosion sent everyone reeling back, Aeris nearly falling off the platform if not for Cid being in the way and graciously falling off for her. Yuffie and Link were clinging onto the edge due to their enhanced reflexes allowing them to snatch the end, and everyone else was strewn across the ground. Barret's dark skin appeared a little darker, but he wore a genuinely pleased expression.

"Tha's the way: knew 'em timed grenade would come inta use," he said cheerfully, shaking the soot of his gun arm. The gate had swung open, its ends smoking and a metre diameter circle missing from its front. With a creak the left gate proved too weak for the shock forces, hinges popping open and with an ominous groan, fell on top of Cloud. It was big enough to reach further, and with a garbled cry of pain Link let go his grip to relieve his poor fingers. He realised his mistake quickly enough, and clasped onto Yuffie's ankle.

"Second time!" she yelled, swaying to shake Link off. "Second time my legs have been so abused! Get off!"

In the meantime Cid managed to climb back up, patches of soil still stuck on his body from his rough landing. "Normally, I'd approve of such action," he growled slowly, "but today, yer a dead man."

His spear charge was cut short when he tripped over the fallen gate, receiving a muffled groan from Cloud underneath. Link used to live in dense vegetation areas, and Yuffie's swaying was nothing like the real rustling of the wind, and with the expertise of a kid climbing vines he clambered up her form, pulling himself onto steady ground before helping Yuffie up.

"Twice I've been so accosted," she muttered, giving Link an unhappy glare, "that's four times altogether: once by Cid, once by that dwarf, and twice by you."

Link shrugged in apology. "Sorry, but we had to get up somehow, and I didn't think falling first would be a pleasant experience."

"Yeah, but you could be a bit more sensitive to a woman."

"A sweet morale tale, I know," Cloud muffled, "but I'm still here, underneath this door. A bit of help?"

It took Cid, Barret and Red XIII's combined strength to lift the gate half off Cloud, and soon everyone wanted to display a bit of their mind at Barret's thinking.

"You're an imbecile, a complete moron," Tifa started, jabbing his chest with each insult.

"Ya coulda warned us first, dope head!" Cid ranted, waving his spear dangerously.

"But I did – I told y'all to stand back," Barret defended, trying to avoid the nasty tip of the spear.

A deep laugh from inside the room ceased their shouting and drew their attention. Standing at the end caressing a black thing on an altar was one Sephiroth, next to the murals was another, and the third stood near the entrance laughing at them.

"This is the pathetic excuse of a group that tries to interfere?" he laughed darkly, sneering at their dusty forms. "Union is key to co-operation." Eyes narrowing dangerously, another copy appeared next to the one speaking, adding, "Conveniently, it is the key to power: true and ultimate power.

"What am I talking about? You ask, do not lie." The copy at the altar took a few steps forward, looked up and disappeared. A replacement appeared next to the murals and voiced out, "The Planet heals itself. Spirit energy bottles at an injury, fixing the wound. The greater the injury, the more spirit energy accumulates."

That one returned to looking at the murals, and Sephiroth at the front spoke out. "And when the injury is big enough to nearly kill the Planet," he intoned, eyes flaring with sudden life and animation, "spirit energy accumulates… enough energy to make me God."

Cloud shook his head. "You're mad, you know that?"

Sephiroth didn't look like he was listening, or ever cared. "The ultimate form of destruction magic, one that the Cetra themselves wished they never created, will be needed. The Black Materia," another version appeared next to the altar, "will summon Meteor. I will become God, ruler of existence."

Red XIII stared wide-eyed at him. "That is madness!" he shouted, baring his fangs, "You will kill everything – animals, plants, the Planet itself!" Readying to launch himself at Sephiroth, he yelled, "You must not do this!"

This time Sephiroth paid more attention to Red XIII's hurtling form, but only enough to bat him away with his sword. Red XIII managed to twist his final leap to redirect his momentum, but the sword managed to still strike true, if not deep. With a whimper he was tossed back, an inch deep slash running across his belly.

"Fetch it, pet, and fight." With those words Sephiroth cast one glance back at the altar, and left.

The effect wasn't one many were expecting. Cloud suddenly lurched forward, hands clasping his head roughly as his feet fell over one another. Half-words escaped his mouth, nonsensical with little meaning. Tifa rushed forward to help him from tripping, and soon enough he recovered.

"Dude, you okay?" Cid asked carefully, "Not gonna freak out on us again, are ya? Y'were talking 'bout potash one sec, north crater the next."

Cloud rubbed his forehead, shaking it slowly. "Uh, I'm alright. Damn, how long did that one last?"

Link raised his eyebrow. "You mean you have these things often?" That couldn't be good, especially if it happened while Cloud was casting a spell or swinging his sword. Link had all too much experience of a spell being interrupted halfway. Admittedly, what he tried was very stupid.

The Black Ice managed to seal Jenova, but it killed the surrounding Cetra and left the North in perpetual cold. It was one skill that the remaining Cetra feared, able to use the essence of life, invert it and creates a mass extinction. They wished Link to clear it of his mind. The only way he knew was to use the White Fire.

The Cetra chose the island that is now called Wutai due to it was the most 'magic dead' chunk of land, so thereby meaning any accidents would be better contained. Using the White Fire, Link burnt the knowledge out. The only problem when was when he accidentally struck the strand of memory for the White Fire.

Without the ability to control the spell he was casting, it went rampant. The Lifestream was forced to shift, flowing from its normal course through Wutai as the magic went wild. Fires surged, yet being created left the creator unharmed. The earth cracked from the forces of the shifting Lifestream, lava spewing from the fissures.

The end result was the mountain Link was sealed in. The Lifestream meant fertile lands, and the mountain's lava became heat for the hot springs and forges, as well as fresh grounds for plants. No wonder the people of Wutai saw Link and the mountain Da-Chao as God, granter of life and prosperity.

Link's thoughts were interrupted when Sephiroth's words came into effect. An ironic depiction of his previous memories, the ground cracked with small trembles, fire licking along the crevasses as a beast struggled free. With a roar, it released itself, the fires in its veins melting the final obstacles. It really shouldn't have come as a surprise that Sephiroth would have the power to tame a Red Dragon.

Words were not needed to move into action. Within seconds of its arrival the group scattered to avoid collective damage from its breath, positioning in a circle so that any attempted attack by it would reveal an opening someone will be able to exploit.

Cloud and Cid, from opposite directions chose to deliver the first attacks, Cloud's sword aiming for a crippling hit against the Dragon's leg and Cid for a more straightforward thrust at the neck. The Red Dragon proved quickly how it deserved its name, being no slouch at physical fighting. Spinning, it used its tail's spiked end to smash into Cloud, who managed to block by dropping his sword. Head facing Cid, it expressed its dislike to his plan, teeth sinking into his arm.

With a scream as his bones were grinded down, Cid transferred his spear to his other arm, clumsily managing to stick the point into the Dragon's nostril. With a flare of fire it let go, waving its snout to clear out the spear lodged in.

An attempt to deliver the killing blow to Cid was interrupted by a cascade of water crashing onto its neck, freezing immediately and locking its motion. Blast after blast followed on, Cait Sith, Aeris and Vincent attempting to drink out the heat from its body in hopes that would kill it.

It probably would have worked, but with its supernatural strength the icy cage was broken. Swirling to face those that dared such an attack, the only warning of the impending danger was the smoke curling free from its jaws.

Aeris was pulled aside by Yuffie, but the rest had to suffer the Dragon's breath. Vincent crossed his wrists to protect his face and Cait Sith jumped behind the giant Moogle for protection, but fire was fire, and especially with the magical kind, there was no real defence against it. A hasty water spell by Tifa removed the flames that would have proved debilitating against Cait Sith's fibre form.

Thinking about it, Link really should have had the title of 'Dragon Slayer' along with his repertoire of others. Dodging a slash by its wing, he tried to clip the softer web, which still proved hard enough for his sword to just bounce off.

This one really reminded him of Volvagia – same colour, same scales, although Volvagia was a snake and this was more Komodo style. Well, it should be possible to use the same methods to kill dragons. First…

"Hey, does anyone have anything big and heavy?" A stupid question, really, since nearly everyone used some form of heavy weapons. "I mean something large and blunt?"

"Why'd you ask?" Tifa called from the other side, shards of ice slowly forming around her fists. Her magic imbuement was cut short when she had to dodge the Dragon's tail, curling and rolling away to avoid the shrapnel from the broken wall.

"We need to smash its head with that, get it dizzy," Link replied, grabbing a loosened stone slate, spinning to get momentum and throwing it. The dragon saw it coming though, and raised its wings in defence. While it meant that the dragon couldn't see them, it also meant they couldn't see its head. Especially given its ability to breathe fire that proved painful.

Link managed to dive aside in time, but the heat reflected off the melting walls caused his clothing to shrivel slightly and his skin to redden. Barret had scaled up the back of the Red Dragon, and standing on its shoulders released all one hundred and fifteen fifty gram bullets at the base of its skull.

The Dragon roared in pain, although the attack proved to only cut through its skin only. Swinging violently its tail lashed around, hoping to knock Barret off. Barret slowly squirmed lower, reaching the base of its tail and hopping off.

Cid was there waiting, nodding to Barret. With its tail upraised, it left the softer underskin of its backside exposed. "Alright, ya big stupid fatso," he snarled, holding his spear as he would a harpoon, "face what all men fear! One thousand years of pain!"

Needless to say, it worked. Cid regrettably lost his spear, but the Dragon was definitely in pain, the haze of it wiping out any remaining semblance to intelligence.

"I can summon Titan, but he'll take time reaching us," Aeris called out to Link's earlier question. The Dragon now seemed intent on killing Cid, who was running in circles around it.

Link shook his head. "No need, I think there's something better." Waiting for Cid to reach him, Link grabbed the man and with a few deft leaps, was standing on top of the Dragon's head.

You could say that the Dragon was smart and stupid. Smart, in that it learnt when Barret was on top that horizontal sweeps with its tail will miss. Stupid, in that it forgot that vertical strikes will also hit itself. Link only had to tap-dance on its neck for a few seconds before hopping down, allowing the weighted tail to do the bludgeoning for him.

Now that the first part was done, the second part was a bit easier. The tail managed to rattle off some of the protective scales of the head. Now it was dazed, it would give Link enough time to complete his spin attack, and with its exposed neck…

Admittedly, Link distinctly remembered just hammering away with his sword against Volvagia, each strike releasing a blaze of furious heat. Darunia lay injured to the side, vainly trying to get up and aid his Sworn Brother. In the end it was Darunia who delivered the killing blow, fighting the gashes running his stone form to crack the Dragon's skull. It was probably then Link received inkling that he was the incarnation of destruction, bringing the giants to their knees. Live by the sword… well, he hasn't died yet, so rule by the sword.

The spin attack proved enough to shear through any remaining protection on the neck, a grinding sound issuing as Link passed by the throat and sawed away the spinal column. With a guttered choke the head was severed from the body.

Like the Jemnezmy, the body took its time to fade away, bits dissolving into motes of light and floating away. Some tried to coalesce and recreate the life again, given a Dragon's immortal features, but with the loss of so much blood needed, it was impossible. With a magical cry trying to desperately summon whatever was left, the motes imploded, leaving a red Materia.

"Hey cool, free stuff," Cloud noted, plucking the Materia from the wreckage. As they passed it down to be stored, Link could feel its calling, the Red Dragon's last cries to its brethren:

_'Freed, freed from this torture. Brothers, aid those that aided me. Bahamut, serve this last request. I am free.'_

"Hey cool, free healing," Yuffie pointed out, the burns and injuries fixed and mended.

"Dragon's Blood," Link explained. His removal of the head sprayed the place with its blood, which evaporated, taking all harm the Red Dragon inflicted with it.

"Ugh, not so cool – Dragon poo," Cid frowned distastefully, retrieving his spear. Visibly there was nothing to be seen on his weapon, but he still held it by his fingertips even though he was wearing gloves.

Barret rubbed the back of his head, looking at his gun arm. "Tha's strange. How come Link there's sword coulda cut the skin, yet my bullets couldn't?"

Surprisingly enough, Yuffie answered. "The throat area isn't as thick as the neck area, for one thing. Link was spinning like a buzz-saw, for another. Also, the kikuichimonji, with its Wutaian forging," she smiled proudly at that, "was initially made to slay the Sea Dragon, Leviathan. Not bad, eh?"

Vincent blinked. "What, the sword, or your knowledge?"

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Of course the sword: my knowledge was superb to begin with, not 'not bad'." Aeris coughed suddenly, but looked too innocent for anyone to derive any meaning from it.

Red XIII in the meantime was doing the more productive thing of surveying the scene, paying particular attention at the murals the Sephiroths were standing next to. "Hmm, most interesting," he mused out loud, "I'm pretty sure I saw this figure before. Cid, poke it."

"Why should Ah touch it, why can't you?" he asked suspiciously. Still, he stepped closer to get a better look.

"Because I don't have fingers, for one thing," Red XIII replied with a sigh, rolling his eyes. "Don't worry, I really doubt touching it would do anything – if touch was all it needed, Sephiroth would have activated it by now."

With a hesitant hand he carefully tapped the top of the black thing with a finger. When nothing happened, a more confident Cid patted it harder on the side. Still when no evident results appeared, he smashed the object repeatedly with his fist.

The room promptly shook, knocking everyone down.

"Okay, that ain't the way to go." Cid muttered. The groans of everyone else agreed with him.

"So what do we do then?" Cloud wondered, getting back to his feet and examining the black statue closer. Up close, he could see small little scratches on its surface, and on very close inspection faint entrails of white gas float sedately around the object.

"I could try asking the Cetra that talked before," Aeris proffered, scratching the top of her neck, "Maybe they could shed some light onto this."

Tifa, leaning against the murals, nodded. "Great, let's get cracking then. How'd you go at it?"

Aeris didn't listen to the question, only taking the affirmation before her eyes glazed in internal concentration. 'From magic we call', the voices said, so perhaps some form of magic would summon them again. Not gifted like Link was, she couldn't see the Lifestream, but she could hear a faint chime of wind bells as her body resonated with the flows beneath, a caressing feeling that sent shivers down her body. "Hello?" she ventured softly.

_"Hello, Daughter. We are proud of you, of your achievements."_

_"You must leave, Daughter. The Angered Gates have heard of your presences."_

_"Leave quickly, Daughter. You have answered half the puzzles, and the traps are setting."_

To those watching, it was a creepy sight seeing her eyes flare back to life as she looked around, trying to pinpoint where the voices were coming from. What was creepier was that with her questions, it seemed clear she was getting some response. Link sat cross-legged, watching the Lifestream stir, tendrils curling up to try and touch Aeris before descending back into the main flow.

In a few minutes the voices seemed to leave her, so judged by Aeris stopping her questions and the Lifestream smoothening out. Her questions themselves were strange enough, starting in the language everyone spoke but gradually translating into something else. Link doubted that Aeris noticed her last words were in part the language he was gifted to hear, part a language even older.

"Well, it seems we found the Black Materia," Aeris relayed to the group, gesturing to the altar, "that's the Materia. Unfortunately, so is this entire building."

Red XIII nodded with dawning recognition, identifying the object's shape similar to the Temple's exterior. "Yes, that would explain a few things, especially when Cid hammered at it," he reflected. "So, what are we meant to do?"

Aeris rubbed her forehead at that. "The Cetra were a bit tricky in answering that, but I think it's about puzzles. Someone has to solve the puzzles of the object over there, but each time they do so this Temple shrinks, until it becomes average Materia size. So, whoever solves it, will be crushed within." Biting her lip, she looked at it hard for a moment. "Do we really need to solve it?"

Cloud nodded unhesitant. "Unfortunately so. Sephiroth has proven he can enter here any time, and he has numerous clones of himself to waste solving this thing. That he hasn't yet is a miracle I'm not wasting." Looking at the entire group, he added, "It'll be safer in our care, rather than leaving this Temple in the open for him to figure out later."

They were debating who to leave to solve the puzzles when Cait Sith volunteered. His cat thing was expendable, was his argument, and although the mental backlash would be extremely painful, it's better than the death of one of the group. He was about to proceed and herd the rest out when the Lifestream stirred again, and Aeris' eyes grew wide.

"We must leave, quickly!" she yelled urgently, already striding to the exit, "the Cetra told me Sephiroth has set the traps, and the Gate Guardian has awakened?"

"Sorry, what?" Barret rumbled, caught surprised by her sudden haste.

Standing at the exit, she flexed her hands in agitation, stamping her foot for them to hurry. "We must leave now, or else the gates out is closed, permanently!"

That got them going, grabbing whatever items they left behind and sprinting for the exit. Aeris called back that it was the twelfth gate, and it seemed to their fortune the clock was set at 6:00, meaning it should have been a simple straight sprint out.

It proved not to be as lucky, for as they ran the arms seemed to grow longer, the walls receding and pushing their destination further from reach. Tifa cursed in an unladylike manner when they could hear the slow grind of stone rubbing against stone.

"Damn this space time distortion," she swore, grabbing the slower Cid and trying to carry him and run faster, "we don't have time for this! For crying out loud, you bloody Temple, just _MOVE!_"

That did the trick, as with a snap of displaced air the hands shortened to normal length, leaving them at the steps of the twelfth gate. Those that got their bearings first pushed those that did not to keep running.

"I think we're a bit late," Vincent remarked as the stone gates came into view. Outward swinging doors, the weight and friction of stone was what kept it moving so slowly. Still, the time taken to reach here had cost them, and a small trickle of sunlight cut through, the beam gradually thinning. It was already too narrow for a person to fit in.

With speed born of desperation and practice, Yuffie pulled free her giant shuriken and hurled it at the closing gap. One blade bounced off the left gate's edge. The rebound lodged the opposite blade into the right gate. With a terrible screech, the shuriken slowly buckled under the pressure applied, Materia popping free from their sockets and the metal warped.

It did its job though. As the blades crumpled into one another, it created a blob too dense for the gates to crush. The thin stream of light the width of Link's thumb stopped shrinking. There was a rumbling sound, the moan of stone and cries of steel as the stone gate shifted slightly, a face stretching free to look at the interruption and those that were doing it. It howled angrily, colour bleeding into its eyes as it stared at the group.

"No," Link commented as he unsheathed his sword, "we're just in time."

Battle commenced.

_-S-_

A/N: Whew, the Temple of the Ancients section took a heck a lot longer than I really anticipated it to be. I may not have gotten the 'hurry up' tone right, but what the hey. Comments on how to improve that will be gladly appreciated.

In case anyone read Naruto manga, yes, that's where I got the idea of 'One Thousand Years of Pain'. I actually haven't read it – my sister has, and mentioned that to me. I decided to implement it.

Anyone played Planeshift? It's a great game, especially since it's free! The only downside I say is that it's too big (the world, not the game MB), I get lost inside the town you start in. Anyway, check it up on Google and visit the website. The graphics and music is superb, I assure you.

Well, finishing off my little block of unneeded text, please drop a review. This chapter actually was a bit larger than I wanted, but I really don't want to cut any bits off (if anyone has any suggestions which parts can go bye-bye, please tell me). Comment, criticise (constructively please), and add to your favourites!


	12. Chapter 11

A/N: Sorry, but looking at the few reviews (sob, sob!) from Odyssey Blade it came to light that I took way too long on it. So as an apology I've been working doubly hard to crank this one out.

Chapter 11:

_Fire.__ Oh Farore the fires. His skin was aflame, the invisible flames licking against it in dark anticipation for its meal. It would eat him alive if it could, but was happy waiting until he was dead. _

_"Kronde, terst kronde," /Fires, the fires/ Link moaned, hands slashing out in an attempt to bat the greedy flames away. Sweat trickled over his body, a thin layer of moist protection, but they burnt worse than the fires themselves._

_The heat was intolerable, and with a hazed scream he jumped up, distant eyes hunting for the red glow that showed his torment. Mouth opening in a tired snarl he lurched forth, trying to smother the flames with the blanket he dropped._

_As soon as he moved someone pushed him down, delicate arms firmly wrapping around his waist and with small effort brought him back to the ground. The touch felt like whips from Hell, blazing scourges using their lava scars to rage marks against his flesh, his soul. Desperately he swung around, trying to push the person off._

_If he was in any other state, he would have had the strength needed to remove the grip. At present though any motion resulted in a pain of great magnitude, muscles screaming in burning anguish. That pain was a smaller torment than the ones of the fires, but it was strong enough to rob total strength away from a man who could slay armies._

_The hands placed themselves on Link's cheeks, forcing his head to look up. His struggle had not the power to resist, and his glazed his focussed to see the person clearly. Mouth twitched, ready to bare his teeth in a savage attempt to free himself._

_What stared back were green eyes, filled with worry, with pain, with fear. Framed by a swathe of green hair they silently begged Link to rest, to conserve his strength. Link knew those eyes. Link knew them. Saria._

_His face collapsed from a wild animal's rage into a tired man's sorrow, dropping his head against Saria's shoulder for support. This time, her touch did not burn, but cool. "Saria… terst kronde, maisain tlei vrox…" /Saria… the fires, take them away…/ Link cried pitifully, one hand feebly pointing to the direction of the heat. It completed a revolution, for the heat was everywhere, for everything burned._

_Gently she lowered him onto his back, pouring a trickle of water over his face and the rest into his mouth. His jaws worked furiously, trying to get the cooling liquid in, and suddenly he remembered he was tired, so very tired…_

_"Terst mroizrin ce'es," /It is the fever/ Saria whispered soothingly, helping Link swallow the rest of his drink. "Stei sri ester." /Get some rest./ She stood up, picking the blanket he tossed on their supplies and slowly folded it. The fever was worrying: sometimes it would pitch him in great chills, body racked with shivers as he called for warmth; the other times it would set life ablaze, incinerating his soul with its cruel grasp._

_Magic as a Forest Sage did little if there was no wildlife nearby. They had landed on a moon, and what magic she could summon from the nearby Planet was used in keeping an air pocket for Link going. _

_The fairy ocarina was her only tie with nature now. With a pained look she stared at the remnant of her memories of Hyrule, of the Kokiri Forest and Great Deku Tree, of the fun in the Forest Meadow and the friends both Kokiri and not. This meagre whittling of wood, the magic protecting it from decay slowly ebbing away, was the only thing she had of home._

_With a heavy heart, she played. This song she dedicated to her memories, to her home, to her fairies, to Link. In it she poured her every emotion, the tears that dried up flowing in the music, the screams she will not cry echoing in its meaning._

_Protesting weakly to the heat, Link finally fell asleep._

_-S-_

Stone should have stayed as stone. Bulges of heated rock would bloom outside the Gate's walls, collecting into itself before launching free like a lightning punch delivered by the most expert of boxers.

That wouldn't have been too bad – after all, the group had fought faster opponents before, and Link himself was no stranger to enemies that struck before you saw the attack coming. What made its assaults lethal was the sheer volume of them, morbid mushrooms growing off the barren wastes of stone and venting their distaste with violent surges. The fact that dodging one strike meant needing to dodge the next and the initial one's bounce grinded any forms of offence into maintaining a sturdy defence.

Yuffie had called up the spell so reminiscent to Nayru's Love, summoning the protective Barrier to shield herself from the multitude of blows that hammered heavily against the ethereal shield. Cloud was hiding behind his sword, using it to deflect the incoming hits away. Rapid cracks signalled Barret's motto of a good defence being a better offence, his machine gun spraying walls of bullets that splintered and shattered the projectile stones. Aeris had managed to erect another barrier to shield everyone else, but a specialised barrage of amorphous rock concentrated on one spot managed to pierce through, delivering a hard clap to her head. Tifa was busy dragging Aeris behind Cloud's form and getting her healing Materia to start.

Flicking his sword in a stylised 'z', Link managed to successfully block four hits aimed at him. His arm was still ringing from the impacts, but that did not hamper his motion of flicking the blade like a fan, and skipping upwards.

There were only three people not stuck in total defence: Vincent, Cait Sith and himself. Using his right hand to brace his left, Link had to change that list – Vincent's gun jammed, and he had to duck for cover to repair. Cait Sith had the fortunate ability to hide behind the giant moogle, its plush body taking less damage by the bludgeons than it would have with a more solid constitution. Link was slowly edging closer towards the wall face, but it seemed that more were aimed his way.

Suddenly the barrage stopped, the only sounds being Barret's shells clattering to the ground. Startled, Link looked at the face, and was surprised to see it looking back.

'Why do you fight? This is not your place,' the mouth moved slowly, the words blaring like the words of giants in Link's mind. Beneath its chin another bulb grew, but as it enlarged fractures appeared over its surface.

"I fight because I have to get out. We can't live in here, you know," Link replied, warily watching the inflating ball expand. The others took the time to scramble up their defences, Vincent throwing out one cartridge and replacing it with another. For some inexplicable reason Cait Sith was rolling the raffles.

The stone eyes surveyed the group, eyes pausing on Aeris momentarily before moving on. 'You will survive, as does the Cetra child. The rest will die.' A loud snap shook the room as a fissure developed, its gaping maw releasing heated gases that launched the fractured ball, now the size of a television. Barret gave it a curious glance before swearing.

"Aw, hell no! Shrapnel!" Grabbing the nearest person he dived to the ground, pulling Red XIII with him. The ball smashed against Yuffie's shield, and true to form exploded to release a wave of stone fragments. Cloud rolled over to shield Tifa and Yuffie, a hail of stone splintering against his armour and cutting into his back. With a stretched groan the barrier dissolved away, forcing Yuffie to jump and avoid the remaining bits.

The gate's charge-up had bought the rest some valuable time though. Skipping above the explosion Vincent had a clear view of the face, firing in rapid succession bullets against its jaw. Stone chipped off, but was quickly replaced as more grinded into place.

Cait Sith had taken the hit on the side, sending both cat and moogle into the wall. With a pitiful mew he got back on though, rolling the raffles one more time before throwing six dice. Smiling as grimly as a stuffed cat could, his eyes narrowed in expectation as the dice tumbled to the resting position. From what Link could see, their numbers summed up to thirty four, with three sixes involved.

As in retaliation to the gate's own barrage, a glowing sphere of spikes appeared, giving off a celestial wail before launching salvo after salvo of spikes, the ghostly spears crashing into the gate mercilessly. In its way of defending itself the gate launched a hail of stone projectiles, but the spears ghosted through to strike true against the wall.

Had their enemy been anything more than stone, Link would have expected a cry of pain, a roar of anger or something in response the damage dealt. Instead it looked forwards with the same blank expression of before, the cracked wall slowly trying to mend itself.

Perhaps as a sign of the damage dealt, or perhaps due to a different strategy, the wall only launched two limbs of stone, these two being heavier and infinitely faster. The face stretched slightly, looking at Link directly again. 'Leave; take the Cetra daughter with you. You will survive.'

He probably changed his gun when Link wasn't looking, but Barret replaced the machine gun with one bizarre looking shotgun. Plucking the bits of stone from his shoulders Barret gave the stone face one hate filled glance before levelling the weapon directly at the face.

"This is for you, ya ugly blockhead," he snarled, slapping a wad of ammunition in, "Angermax!"

It was an interesting spectacle to see: the solemn face of stone against the expressive Barret, the beam of stone facing the repeated blasts of his shotgun. At some point Link believed Barret would have to move aside, but the beam ran out of punch and had to retract, letting him pepper the face with two sprays.

"Sorry man, but we're not going down without a fight," Link apologised with a grin to the battered face, instinctively ducking to dodge an overhead bludgeon. A sword wasn't going to do much against a wall of stone, so the most he was going to do was wave the blade in a threatening manner and grab its attention. Hopping, he could feel the warmth of friction as the edge of his sandal started burning away as it skimmed against the limb of stone.

Aeris was now back up and running, and for a nice girl she was very willing to show her spite against the stone gate. The air humidifying around her, a pale blue corona floated around her hands before condensing into a shaft of water. Tapping her staff lightly against the ground to signify the end of the spell, the nimbus broke, drilling droplets of water against the stone with the force of a waterfall.

With an almost irritated air Link could almost imagine that the gate didn't want to fight Aeris, just prevent her from hitting it. With condescending patience ghostly tendrils coalesced, flaring out to wrap the slower fighters.

Barret and Cid struggled, smacking away the vaporous arms with their weapons. Soon they wondered why they were struggling anyway, and staring at the growing greyness of the points struck started struggling even more. Cloud was smarter in his hunt for a remedy.

"Yo, a bit of help 'ere?" Cid shouted out, waving the arm that wasn't stone around to attract attention. That arm was quickly lowered to avoid losing everything from the elbow up, but undeterred he sent it back up waving. "Tifa, what's takin' yer so long with the bloody help?"

Glaring at him, she plucked out a Materia from her pouch and finding a clear space in her gauntlet fixed it in. "Patience, I'm not your nurse!"

Her attempt to reach them was blocked by another shrapnel bomb was launched, bowling Red XIII over and exploding right in front of her. Only instinctual reflexes saved her eyes from damage, arms cross-guarding her face from the whizzing bits.

Aeris, seeing the plight of her friend disengaged her onslaught of water based attacks to cast a major healing spell. The stone gate launched another stone projectile, colliding powerfully with her staff and throwing her Materia askew.

Snatching the water Materia in his teeth Red XIII loped to a safe distance, his only summoning being the growl around the object. Blasting the wall with another cascade of water, his eyes hunted for the healing Materia needed to break the stone grasp that had Cid up to his neck, Barret two his chest and Cloud up to his elbows. In an almost mocking gesture his fingers turned to stone just as they grasped the remedy bottle.

Seeing one of the amorphous stone bulging and aiming at the cluster of frozen friends, Link slapped one aimed at his head aside and running to Cloud's defence. Curling into himself, he rolled forward, tucking the blunt edge of his sword against his right elbow and gripping tightly to the bottom of the hilt. He unrolled just in time to catch sight of the incoming projectile in his peripheral vision

For a weapon not suited for cutting stone, the kikuichimonji did its job surprisingly well. Well, a Sea Dragon couldn't be made out of putty, so anything that can cut through one should be able to cut through anything. Sparks flew as the blade sawed into the stone, cutting a serrated hews through the appendage. Just when Link believed his wrist would snap from the strain applied the sword sliced through, leaving a metre length of stone unattached to its origin. On hitting the ground the stone dissolved, trickling along the crevasses between the pavement back to the wall.

'You were not meant for this world,' The gate intoned, an arm shooting out to petrify Red XIII with the healing Materia in his jaws. 'I have seen much, and have seen your entry. You were not meant for this world.'

"Life isn't easy," Link agreed, batting away the projectiles of rock that were trying to obliterate Cloud's legs into dust. Cloud was straining his neck to keep as much of his head from turning to stone.

"Hey Link, could you do me a favour?" He managed to choke out, what with his voice box already petrified.

"Yeah?"

'Leave, and I will grant you passage out of here. Approach me when this business is finished, and I will give you exit.' One limb shooting out to push Aeris away from helping Tifa, it added as an afterthought, 'Take the Cetra daughter with you.'

"You see the blue bottle in my hand?" If cloud could wriggle his fingers, he would. "Well, break it. Or better yet, find another blue bottle and douse me with it."

"Sure thing." It was quite a tricky thing, flapping his right hand around in search of the bottle and swinging his left hand to deflect the powerful shots. Link couldn't feel his arm anymore. Managing to touch the pouch, he had to let go to dive and protect Cid from being cracked in two. Then it went back to searching again.

'I have guarded the passages of hell. My eyes have seen the horrors there are, and can see the pain that will befall you. Protect the Cetra daughter. The Sister's child will strike her.'

"Sister? What are you talking about?" Link smiled lightly as his hand grasped onto a vial. It had the right shape, and fingering the ridges on it proved it to be a remedy. Yanking it out of the pouch, he decided on the quickest way to break it. The closer to the top, the better.

"Ow! My nose!"

Whoops – not all of Cloud had turned to stone. Link had a short moment to flick his eyes and see the growing bruise where he punched the glass vial against. Raising his eyebrows in apology he turned his attentions back to the gate, swinging his sword out to pierce an appendage that would have cracked Barret clean. With a grunt he wrestled his sword free of it.

"Oh for crying out loud what does it take to let us pass?" Link gritted, using the blunt edge of his sword to whack another incoming bolt aside. Aiming his right hand lower he smashed the bottle against Cloud's neck, releasing the liquids to work their magic.

Had he seen, he would have been granted the spectacle of the blue liquid dribbling down, hissing like steam as it scored its path down the stone ways, fading into the stone before reaching the ground. The stone areas, where tinted blue would start to glow with radiant heat as it essentially burned away to release the flesh trapped beneath. With a gentle ripple cloth would be revealed, twisting and stretching as the remainder of it returned from its petrified status. For men completely converted to stone this was a painless act; for men who still had a functioning brain the reassembly of the nerves brought tears to the eyes. Cloud bore it with a stoic wince, biting his lip.

'Passage? Evidence that your human allies can change the future, Hylian,' it blared. Link's eyes widened at that word. 'Proof that they are those destined to save our Planet, rather than destroy it.'

As Cloud yanked his shoes free from the remainder of stone still attached, Red XIII managed to successfully cure Cid, and Tifa had cracked a remedy over Barret's head. At some point Vincent kicked Aeris her staff back, and Cait Sith took the job of pummelling the stone wall away with water. With an almighty rumble half of the wall collapsed, leaving the face and everything to its right intact.

"Proof?" Link mused, taking the sharply reduced onslaught to drink a tonic to return feeling in his arm. His eyes flicked from each person to the next. Barret was the environmentalist trying to save the Planet. Red XIII the descendant and Aeris saw the Planet's destruction. Yuffie was a ninja who wanted power for Wutai, meaning sapping strength from Shinra. Vincent and Cid had a personal vendetta against the mega-corporation. Tifa helped from her ties with her friends, Cait Sith due to belief of redemption and Cloud because of Sephiroth. Where did Link stand in this?

He fought for the chance to see Jenova. And maybe for the last time truly end her. _Come home, if you can. Come home..._

"Well, as for motivation, you're going to have to take our word for it." Link's grin faltered slightly as the wall used the newly-made rubble as projectiles, and he had to duck to avoid a car-sized boulder from hitting him. Aeris and Vincent were alternating attacks of ice and fire to aid Cait Sith's. Freeze and thaw; freeze and thaw. I will erode you from existence.

"As for strength," Link shaded his eyes as motes of power swirled into Cloud's sword, "we'll be proving it shortly." Swinging the heavy sword into his charge position, Cloud sprinted forward, ignoring the strike against his shin as he pushed his angered assault towards the gate's face.

As the sword closed in Link squinted to block out the light emitted from the sword. Glowing like a hydraulic system filled with phosphorus liquid overworked itself within the blade it struck deep into the stone above the face, the increased resistance not hindering its powerful descent downwards. "Finishing Touch," Cloud whispered with almost perverse satisfaction.

Sword cleaving straight through, he hopped back to admire his handiwork and be prepared for any suicide blasts. A perfect vertical slice cracked the face in two, one side now slanting without the wall's support. Both eyes stared forward though, twitching the head so they looked at Link. 'Very well,' the voice said, softly this time, 'you may pass.'

If stone could smile, Link would have thought it did. Shifting with an ear rending screech the stones started to disintegrate, falling apart into powder and then evaporating into mist. What was left was an armlet and as if an apology to Yuffie, another giant shuriken in replacement. It mysteriously even had the smiley face sticker she liked to plaster on her weapons.

"Whoa, creepy," Yuffie commented, twirling the weapon and testing its weight, "but I'm not complaining. This is pretty good." Eyes lingering on the armlet still lying on the ground as everyone tried to heal each other, she pointed at it and asked soulfully, "Can I have that?"

Tifa cracked an eye open to glance at it before shutting it again. She found a cold compress somewhere and was applying it to her forehead. Stupid shrapnel bombs. "Be fair Yuffie, give it to Link: he never wears armour."

Yuffie's eyes grew large with crocodile tears and she passed her gaze between Link and Tifa. He raised his hands to show he wasn't involved in the argument. "B-but Link doesn't need to wear armour, he's bloody fast as he is! Besides, he can't use Materia either!"

Barret, who previously was sticking his head through the opening to breathe the fresh air and enjoy sunlight tumbled back in to comment. "Tha's true too," he rumbled, comparing his battered own armour to the golden tinted one lying there, "so since Link cahn't use't properly, Yuffie's got a new disc thing an' me's got the oldest armour, I think tis' fair if-"

"Ah, whaddya know about fair, ya bit lug?" Cid interrupted, jabbing Barret's belly with a finger. "Yeh stuff yer face before dishin' the food to us. 'Sides, yer armour's not gonna break soon. I didn't see yeh get swung 'round like a rag doll."

"And you were?" Red XIII chuckled lightly. Shaking his head, he nudged the armlet into the middle of the heated group. "Since rational decision making clearly isn't going to work with this lot, let's just randomly pick."

Nodding reluctantly, they all organised themselves into a circle, and on Red XIII's insistence Link joined in. Checking the number of people involved, Yuffie started chanting a simple rhyme, bouncing her finger along with each syllable:

"Papa's making a brand new brew,

Made of lotion and shampoo,

If there's a hole in your shoe,

Then this therefore belongs to you."

Going around, she eventually pointed at herself. "Me? Wai! Thank you, you guys are so kind!" Clutching her new armlet happily she cheerfully ignored the mutters of 'cheating bugger' and 'thief'.

Now that little issue was rounded up, they joined the larger group to determine the more important issues: the Black Materia. "So, choice: who takes it?" It was a short introduction to the problem, but Tifa succinctly summed it up.

"Ah suggest Yuffie," Cid spoke up, covering his right ear momentarily at an adamant 'hey!' from her, "she picks locks, pockets and everything else. This is gonna be a piece o' cake fer her."

"This is no joke guys," Aeris said seriously, "whoever does it has to sacrifice themselves for it."

Cait Sith piped up then. "If it's just sacrifice I can do it," he mewed, pointing at his stuffed body, "this thing can be replaced. It might take a while for the replacement to arrive, but it's better than not returning ever."

Well, wasn't that a candid thought. "But I thought you said that pain does get relayed from that stuffed toy to you?" Link asked? Cait Sith mewed in agreement, shrugging. My loss, he seemed to gesture.

It didn't take long to remove everything from Cait Sith that they wanted to keep: Materia, weapons, armour and other accessories were stripped off, and Cait Sith even wanted them to keep the raffles box for some reason. Link had to admire the connectivity between controller and puppet, for you could see the nervousness in the cat's eyes: this is going to hurt a lot.

Aeris, seeing the cat uncomfortable, tried to ease the situation. "Since you'll be gone for a while, why don't you give us a fortune telling?" Smiling lightly, she held a finger to his chin before raising it. "I know, tell us who's best suited for Cloud."

Cait Sith seemed happy to do the task, temporarily taking back his raffles box and shaking it. With a flourish built to make ten year olds cheer he pulled out the card, scrutinising it before throwing it aside. "Poor Tifa," he said softly, "looks like Cloud's heart will always be with Aeris." Feeling a bit more confident, he returned the raffles box and ushered them to leave.

They hadn't been separated from the outside world for long – merely a few hours, perhaps a day or two given the time distortion qualities – but everyone was looking around with renewed vigour, enjoying the sun on the skin, the colour of leaves, the caress of wind.

Cait Sith said he'll give them ten minutes to get out of danger's way. Plodding their way back to the shore, Red XIII offered to leave and track down where they left the Tiny Bronco. The rest lay down to enjoy the scenery.

Lying on the ground and staring at the sky, Link smiled at the clouds. A Deku Baba, trying to snap at the legs of a running Kokiri. As the winds pushed he could imagine the Kokiri turning around, laughing at the Deku Baba at its failed shot.

Before, Link thought nostalgically, he was afraid of anything larger than his shins: giant spiders, giant plants, it was always with tense muscles did he defend. Yet in the span of less than a year's worth of consciousness, the boy who feared anything that might bite him was striking down the King of Evil, shaving through armies of the dead without batting an eyelash, defeating beasts best left sealed with nary a fright. When did he turn from the lost child who wanted acceptance into the Hero of Time?

Probably, Link recollected, tracing the shape of the fleeing Kokiri, when he realised that as saviour, everyone would accept him. He would have thrown down the mantle, cracked under the burden if not for the dreams of national recognition, as man and child alike knew his name and spoke it not with confusion or contempt but with respect. Link, the Hero of Time! Who would throw their insults against his name? Who would speak such an honour in the same sentence of disgust?

In the end, only a select few remembered. In the end, it didn't really matter – Link finally understood what he did, and found peace in that even though no one knew him for his efforts, he saved them, and the fact that no one knew of the dangers that threatened was proof he won.

Link was drawn out of his reverie by the sound of displaced air. Jolting up from the high shriek, he watched with detached fascination as the Temple shrank in size, collapsing into its smaller status with a bang on a gong. Pausing for just a moment it shrank again, volume reducing by half each time, falling beneath the tree line. With each reduction the ground shook, sinking imperceptibly towards the centre of the island. By the time they reached where the Temple used to lie, a massive crater was created.

"Wow, not bad," Cloud whistled as he skidded towards the Black Materia lying in the centre. Twiddling the Materia between his fingers, it was with noticeable relief he proclaimed, "Now we've beaten Sephiroth to it. While we have this, the world is safe."

Link inspected the Materia closely, watching how the lifestream distorted itself around it, pushing away and forming the strongest shell possible to prevent magic from flowing in. When it was a Temple the lifestream flowed loosely, in this compressed form they were smashed against each other, forcing the furthest ones further and creating solid concentric circles with the Materia as the centre. A safety device, he realised, it will take a lot of magic to push the lifestream in, more than he believed Aeris was possible of managing. More than a dozen Aeris' could hope to manage.

"I don't see how anyone can use this in the first place," Link said with a tinge of disbelief, tracing the geometric circles with his foot, "it'd take someone strong enough to wrestle with the lifestream to get this thing to work."

A laugh echoed out, derisive, condescending, cruel. Appearing right next to Cloud Sephiroth laughed, arms crossed in a bemused expression. Now with a closer look, Link could see that the lifestream bended towards him…

"Wrestle with the lifestream? Indeed, it takes much strength the master this Materia," he sneered, pointing at the object clasped tightly in Cloud's grasp, "yet who needs to fight what is already yours? I am the traveller of the lifestream, bending it to my will with each step." Flicking his gaze to Cloud's, he commanded, "Give it to me."

"W-what? No!" Cloud struggled to speak, yet for his words his body didn't follow. Jolting like a marionette played by a poor puppeteer, his feet lurched forward, arms rising to deliver. "I won't give – no!" Cid jumped forth the push Cloud into his senses, but by then Sephiroth already snatched it.

"The powers of God," he whispered, ignoring the seizure-racked Cloud on the ground and the seething group, "is mine." He laughed, fading back into the lifestream. He laughed because they couldn't stop him, and if they couldn't, who could?

"Won't give – no – won't – no!" Cloud still uttered, hands shooting out in clawing motions to seize back what was given. Grasping a rock he clutched it hard enough to reduce its outer layer to dust, and pulled it close to his chest, glazed eyes not seeing. "Not yours, no, not…" Abruptly his fits ended, eyes rolling back as he sunk into unconsciousness.

Cid rubbed his temples, grimacing at his downed ally. "I woulda kick 'im if 'ee weren't down already," he grumbled frustratedly, "I mean, jus' givin' the flamin' stone to bloody Sephiroth? He's got issues, man, bad issues."

Barret sighed, helping Tifa and Aeris pick him up. "He can't bail out – none of us can," he replied grimly, flicking his head towards to confused Red XIII in the distance, "alls we got is to stick together. C'mon, we'll deal with this back home."

Vincent frowned, watching Cloud closely as they proceeded back towards the Tiny Bronco. He had a guess that it was the Jenova cells acting upon Cloud, yet why didn't they act upon him? With sick realisation he wondered, did he have any? What horrors could Hojo inflict without the aid of a demon? What demon was Hojo himself?

It was a sombre mood, the trip back. Without the Temple of the Ancients to influence the gravity the Tiny Bronco managed to start-up without any issues, plane engine propelling them away from the emptied island and back into the light waters. No one was enjoying the sky's beauty of the water's vastness, caught up in their own thoughts.

Aeris was watching Cloud blankly, her hair removed from her tie as she slowly brushed out any tangles gained from the journey. She rolled her Materia hairclip between her fingers, taking care not to let it fall out of her hands. Wordlessly she passed her brush to Tifa, moving her gaze from Cloud to the hairclip.

At some point Link had pulled out his ocarina and was playing a mournful piece of music on it. He forgot where he learnt it from, he forgot what this piece was for, and he knew nothing of who composed it.

Perhaps part of the intended tune, perhaps as reflection of Link's gapped memories, the melody flowed out, striking chords with pangs of wanting truth, the soft drop of tears crying for the forgotten.

It is easy to give up, Link thought to himself, to admit defeat. Life paradoxically was built to suffer through the worst of storms yet would give up with the slightest touch. Sealed away for seven years, Link never knew what Ganondorf did to wrestle total control over Hyrule, but Link believed that if the populace resisted just a bit longer, held their ground against his attempts of tyranny, he would have exhausted his reserves and failed. Hyrule fell not just because of Ganondorf's strength, but the spirits' weakness. No one tried hard enough.

Perhaps that was why the Goddesses created a Hero of Time: someone who would persevere through the ages, born and reborn as the candle of tenacity to the world's ease of relinquishing hope. The beacon of strength, merely because none had the courage to hold it. Link faced hell because Hylians were afraid of high water.

The situation with Sephiroth looked bad: doom of the Planet, a greater threat that just a mere tyrant. You'd expect with such a larger calamity more people would be geared to fight it, yet people were still having fun in the Gold Saucer, laughing, playing. Ignorance is bliss? The music warbled slightly as Link held back a snort. Ignorance is a killer. With knowledge seven years outdated he was ordered to save his home, the Kokiri Forest. Gone was safe passage through the Village. Gone was the exuberance of the children having fun. Instead were monsters he never dreamed of seeing desecrate such a place, children who were too afraid to protect the surging evil.

Yet could he blame them? What could those fooling around in the Gold Saucer do against a man who rode the lifestream? Heck, ignorance in this world was so prevalent Link was sure half the population didn't know there was a lifestream. What could a child do against the Wolfos that patrolled for an easy meal at night, not knowing of such dangers before?

Some point they hit the mainland, Red XIII taking the duty of carrying Cloud around. Pocketing his ocarina, Link made a quick review of the group. "So where to?"

Cid checked the map briefly, frowning. "The closest settlement is Gongaga Village, 'though tis' gonna take an hour to get there." Lowering the rugged sheet, he sighed out a plume of smoke, holding his cigarette between his ear and head. "Prob'ly gonna take more time with Wonderboy here all asleep, but we can't do much without him awake."

Placed within a shield of forestry, Gongaga Village did prove the effort to reach. Twice they headed a little bit too south or a bit too north, missing the Village completely and needing to backtrack and try again. Yuffie was best suited to this type of terrain, leaping from tree to tree like the woods being a giant playground. The heavier fighters found the damp earth and tripping roots a greater challenge, needing to watch the ground more than the map or way forward. The occasional monster attack was dispatched quickly, a swift strike by Link's sword or Tifa's fist proving enough to clear the area. Examining the sudden power difference, Link truly had to wonder how long they spent within the Temple of the Ancients.

Hiring a tent they rolled Cloud onto a bed, dragging chairs around to wait for him to wake up. A doctor offered to look at him, but could no problems other than mild fatigue. Barret exited to talk on the PHS, telling Cait Sith where to go to find them. Growing bored of just sitting there, so too did the rest of the group, Tifa being the only one staying behind to watch over Cloud.

"Life never gets easy," Vincent said with a bit of mirth, waving his arm in a gesture to encompass the surroundings. "Just when you think things go right, they go wrong."

Link nodded solemnly, watching the citizens push forward in their work: farming, selling, and manufacturing. Children, children, he wanted to call out, for their ages summed to be infants compared to his, why do you work so hard? Destruction looms with a fleeting shadow, a man diseased by Jenova. You cannot see how the lifestream screams with his passage, how life already seems to be mourning what it foresees. You cannot know of the danger you cannot fight, for none of you can pick up the arms needed to battle this menace. No, children, things have gone wrong, horribly wrong, yet only a select few can fix it.

Instead, he just added, "I know what you mean. Look at me: stranded in space for a few centuries, stuck in a volcano for centuries more. But look on the bright side," he chuckled lightly, pointing at the group outside: Yuffie teaching children how to make origami, Red XIII watching the sun paint the sky with its fiery glow, Cid deep in a poker match against the residents and Barret running around, "what could go wrong now? How could it get worse?"

Vincent raised an eyebrow, his silent remark accusing Link of tempting fate. Just as to push the punch in Barret ran up to them, heaving for breath. "Hey guys, have any of you seen Aeris? I can't find any of her stuff anywhere."

Shaking his head slowly, Link wondered where she could have gone without resting even one day. Almost as another blow against his ideas, Barret held up a scrunched note with Aeris' handwriting:

_Will be back soon.__ I found a way. With love._

With a groan Link smacked his hand against his forehead, and Vincent smiled again. "Just when things get bad, they get worse." A quick scramble to Cloud's tent proved Barret's statement: Aeris' equipment and a few items were not found, confusing Tifa and worrying her.

From their able group of nine, they were presently chopped down to six.

_-S-_

A/N: Hmm… Sorry if this chapter doesn't meet your understandably high expectations. I just can't seem to get the mood right… Please, review and offer your suggestions. It's going to take a lot to figure out how to fix this.

To someone's question, yes, Link is going to get his magic back, sort of. It'll be happening pretty soon, if I get this story planned out right. Man, writing two stories is really a trick: one holds one atmosphere, yet you cannot let that leak into the next. I just think it'll be unfair to my readers if I postpone one to complete the other first.

Hopefully my next update won't take so long. As to force myself into some sort of schedule, I promise (and hopefully I won't break it) that the next update will come within three to four weeks. Hold me to my word, complain if I don't.


	13. Chapter 12

A/N: Whew, sorry for the long... long... nothing happening era. I have finally declared to myself that while my English teacher is a good teacher, said teacher gives enough homework for three subjects. What am I doing writing now? I should be doing my homework!

Chapter 12:

_Light._ _Amongst the pain, the wracking fires and scalding cold, there was light. Link could see it, a warm glow of green pastures and blue skies, of thriving markets and lazy windmills. It called to him, whispered soothing words to quiet his tears._

_Link knew it for what it was. As his skin felt like it was decaying on him, splitting, cracking, crumbling, the light grew warmer, spoke clearer. As each beat of his heart echoed with increasing screams of rent muscles and collapsing veins, the light drifted past the barriers of periphery, and gently settled into his view._

_He knew it for what it was. A salve to the pain, pitied mercy after centuries of suffering. It beckoned with faces; children's laughter, smiling grannies, waving friends. Link knew those faces, and what they represented._

_Link hated the light. He hated what it was telling him. He hated its soothing voice, its enshrouding view, its suppressing of the pain. He hated it, because he feared it._

_Link did not want to die._

_He could not die now. Not lost, in the twilight of space, where home is but a memory of the broken. He will not die and give up to a disease. He, who faced death in all its forms, in the shape of gritty teeth and claws, or rusted blades or empty eye sockets, refused to fall to sickness. Pride? It was something beyond pride. He stared undeath face to face and managed to tear himself free of its haunting screams. _

_Most importantly, he could not leave Saria alone. _

_The light was warm and soothing, yet while it meant joining some friends it also meant leaving one behind. Saria, his guardian, his friend, his responsibility, did not deserve to be abandoned to the blackness of space. Saria deserved better than all the inflictions Link brought upon her._

_He tore her away from her home, and let two of her remaining friends die. He will not let her last one slip free of her desperate grasp._

_So when he saw the light, it was with anguish did he rip his gaze away from the disappointed faces of past memories, and screaming to himself banish it to the edges of his vision. The pain would return, hammering his mind a hundredfold, and the bleak heat of fever would slowly chill through his blood. _

_And each time he pushed the light away, he would see Saria's eyes, framed with her green hair and glistening with new tears. The roar of agony would dissolve away from her soulful music, and the heat would dissipate as each teardrop landed on his skin. _

_No, he couldn't leave her behind. So each time the light came, Link would wrestle with the warring sides of warmth and torment, and fight his way to buy one day more of existence. And Saria would greet him, thankful for that extra day, playing her music to drown the pain._

_Tired... he was so tired..._

_-S-_

"So, just to get this straight," Yuffie clarified slowly, "we should head to the City of the Ancients, somewhere up north."

Cloud nodded briskly, quickly stuffing whatever rations would be needed into his backpack. "Right."

"And you got this information from a dream, where Aeris told you not to follow." Looking around the room, Yuffie wondered whether she was the only one who saw a problem in that.

"Right."

"Plus this dream came right after you had a weird spaz attack from Sephiroth."

"... Right."

"And Sephiroth also appeared in this dream."

Frowning in impatience, Cloud clicked his backpack shut before turning around to address Yuffie. "Are you going to keep interrogating me, or start packing?" he asked brusquely, flicking her an annoyed glare.

"Easy, easy," she raised her hands in a placating manner, slowly shuffling to her items, "just setting the facts straight." Turning around to shield her face from him, she added under her breath, "I can't believe it: we're following a madman."

Aside from Link and Yuffie, everyone else was ready to leave. Yuffie was grumbling how Materia wasn't worth all this, and Link seemed stuck in some reverie, staring at the broken Mako reactor.

"How the Planet screams," he whispered sadly, watching the Lifestream fade from a poisoned green to dribbling black near the reactor, "it can't take this." Moving his gaze to encompass the blasted ground, the blackened steel and greying trees he asked the wind, "Will it heal?"

"You sayin' sumthing o'er there, mate?" Cid asked from below, peering through his cigarette smoke to look at Link. Dressed in his dark green ninja garb, it took a bit of effort to see Link amongst the slope of the hills and forests behind.

"Nothing, nothing of importance," he replied back, keeping his eyes on the burnt crater in the distance, "just that this reactor makes a sorry sight."

Cid nodded sagely, stamping out his cigarette. "I hear you. Tha's Shinra fer ya: only about money, people and Planet be damned." Glancing back at the quarrelling Cloud and Yuffie, he added, "Yer might wanna pick things up soon, fer Cloud doesn't look like he's in a good mood." Saluting to Link's still form, he pulled his spear out of the rock he embedded it in and walked off whistling.

Link was in no hurry to pack up, for he only had the sword the Wutaians gave to him, the clothes the Wutaians gave to him and the odd number of knives and shurikens he pocketed from Yuffie. All of those he was either wearing of had on his person, so the only real packing he had to do would be to fetch the first aid kit no one else understood why he wanted to buy.

Granted, Link had to admit the medicine of this Planet far exceeded the ones of back home, and was more available. In Hyrule back then there were only three places you could buy draught medicine, otherwise any injury or sickness would have to be sweated out and tended by the nearby flora and doctors. Grinning slightly, he remembered fighting Phantom Ganon, and laughing at its rage that the portraits it was meant to hide in wasn't working. The pain of his arm's injuries where a particularly vicious Deku Baba managed to bite him and release its poisonous sap effectively blinded him, so by the time he duelled with the Phantom visually hiding was a wasted effort. Never before had Link been grateful for the sharpness of his ears.

What Cloud and the rest did not understand was that magic, like everything else, will fail. Potions might go awry, and when it occurs you'll have to rely on good old fashioned bandages to keep you in one piece. Link knew all too well what it feels like to have your magic gutter out on you – the midnight moon was a constant reminder of it.

Finally Yuffie finished packing, parting grumpily from Cloud's presence grumbling about loonies and the mentally unstable. Said target appeared impervious to her words, commanding the others to quickly assemble and head for the Tiny Bronco. Hopping off the elevated land Link snatched the first aid sack at the base and quickly joined the group.

"Aren't we waiting for Cait Sith?" he asked once noticing their numbers didn't add up.

"Cloud here says we ain't waiting no longer," Barret rumbled, exhaling heavily as he locked on his gun, "that we gotta go now. Cait gotta meet us up once we reach there."

"So where're we going?"

"To Bone Village firs', in the Northern Continent," Cid spoke through the volumes of maps he was holding, "and providin' we navigate right it should take abou' three days of straight swimmin' to arrive."

Link's smile faded slightly as he nodded. The Northern Continent... it was where he fought Jenova for the last time, where he entombed her under layers of frost. It was a sign of their growing desperation back then, to have to fall back until the battle was held just outside the Cetra's capital city. By then Jenova saw herself as a deity, the ultimate form of power congealed, and by most measures she was.

The walk to the Tiny Bronco was unusually quiet, given that Aeris wasn't there to deliver her bubbly personality into the mixture. Cloud was brooding on something he was unwilling to share with the rest, Cid and Red XIII were busy studying the maps, Yuffie was in a bad mood, Vincent was naturally quiet and Tifa was worried about Aeris' somewhat unexplained departure. The sounds of trudging feet made a good atmosphere for internal thought.

Perhaps Link should have given up earlier, when Navi and Shael were still alive and the disease didn't steal Saria's sanity. Perhaps if he conceded defeat, just that once, and grew accustomed to the new planet of habitation, none of this would have ever happened. He would not have been stranded in the void of space, far from the sympathies of other people, when Saria caught the disease. He would not have resorted to his flailing magic to keep her alive, and kill her all the same. When he managed to bring her form, crying and dying, to the hands of the Cetra, they would not tell him how much damage he inflicted to her with his desperate use of magic. Many would avert their eyes, saying that he should think of the here and now, and that she is recovering.

Oh, how wrong they were. She did not recover. If Link knew what would become of Saria back then, he would have let her die. Instead, he turned her, mutilated in mind and starving in spirit, into a creature so unlike herself, instead of giving her the blessing of death.

There were times Link wondered whether Saria saw her own fate. Trapped in the fever, before she lost the ability to speak, she told him to kill her, end the suffering, and stop the untold. He thought it was the fever talking, that her almost violent outbursts when he refused were caused by the disease. Perhaps she saw what she would become, and was horrified. Perhaps she saw the faces of the slain, perhaps she saw her fingers coated in the blood of others, and perhaps she saw madness kill madness, slaughtering the innocent for reasons of the guilty.

Saria's last song should have been a warning to him. No, not Saria's, Link reminded himself sharply, growing angry for tarnishing such a name, Jenova's. Jenova's first song, the only one composed of words and not screams, to the music of something other than death. Mocking, cruel, it was the prophecy of the mad.

Unconsciously, Link started singing the words.

_Always suffering...  
Twisting, writhing,  
poking, burning...  
Grinding, mashing,  
shredding, devouring..._

_An endless torture,  
Wretched thoughts.  
A bleak future  
The darkness has brought._

_A sharp sensation,  
A terrible pain.  
A soul sent to damnation,  
Among the pouring rain._

_But always there is hope,  
A light shining through.  
Don't waste time to mope,  
Else it'll surely kill you._

_Endure a bit longer,  
Struggle some more.  
You will become stronger,  
Life's at your door._

Life, life? Link laughed bitterly. It was life alright, but one devoted to death. Jenova was corrupt, twisting each word from their original intentions. Driven by the thirst of power, she grew strong indeed.

Link was pulled through his ruminations by the unnerved stares of everyone surrounding him. On everyone's faces was a level of worry, and more prominently of Yuffie's, horror.

"Dude, we got one loon already," she said warningly, ignoring the complaints from Cloud, "we don't need another. You're not going mad, are you?"

Link blinked. "What?"

Red XIII cleared his throat. "You were singing a... truly unique song, and then laughed at the end," he elucidated, "granted, it was a piece of musical artistry, but..."

Ah. "Sorry, it just came into mind. Jenova made it when we thought Saria would recover, but she deceived us: Saria died long ago."

"Wha? I thought you said tha' Jenova an' Saria were the same person," Barret complained, confused, "how can one of 'em die with the other livin'?" Seeing Link's somewhat pained look, he mumbled in the end, "Sorry."

"S'all sweet 'n' all, but go save the chitchat for the ride," Cid said when he furled up all the maps and gestured to the coast. Cloud seemed surprised to have achieved the journey without a single monster attack. "Now yer got yer last toilet break fer three days, unless you expect us to turn our backs and twiddle our thumbs while you go take a-" His sentence was cut off by Tifa hitting him in the gut. Cid smiled particularly nastily at the girls.

Link raised an eyebrow. "No stops?"

"No stops," Yuffie scowled, glaring at Cloud, "Chocoboy here believed it's too urgent to get there fast to allow for the necessities of life." Gazing forlornly at the tissue roll at hand, she gave Cloud another glare for good measure. Trudging away noisily, she did not hear the soft clutter of a Materia falling loose.

Picking it up, he identified its red tint to mean it was a summoning Materia. Pocketing it for the time being, he decided to return it to her once she was in a better mood.

Once everyone was set and ready to go, Cid kick started the engine and satisfied with the thrum it made, gently manoeuvred the Tiny Bronco away from the coast.

"I don't get it," Tifa commented, lying back on one of the tail wings to stare at the sky, "how can Aeris get there without the Tiny Bronco? It's unlikely of her to walk."

Cloud shrugged. "She's a resourceful lady."

Red XII had taken up Aeris' previous hobby of drawing the coral reefs below, and was proving surprisingly adept at holding a paintbrush between his teeth. Vincent was playing a quiet game of cards with Barret, where you could tell he was winning by the slight smirk he wore (and the hopelessly open expression of Barret). Cid as usual was piloting, but with a fairly straight path to navigate he could afford to give quick glances at Barret's cards and offer some savage advice. Cloud was taking the time to protect his sword from the sea breeze, methodically wiping it and guarding it against rust. Yuffie was still surly about events, letting her feet bounce off the concrete water below.

It was a pity that in Hyrule there was no sea; no vast expanse that stretched past the horizon and glimmered with the beauty only the glitter of a setting sun could provide. Freshwater just wasn't the same as seawater, and while Lake Hylia was a good place to relax and absorb the tranquillity, it did not have that special omnipotence a larger body of water could deliver.

Link's heart experienced a sudden twinge. Drowning, drowning, the Hyrule Fields were now drowning... Closing his eyes, he remembered the few fleeting glimpses of a small collection of islands, and a large breadth of water in between. Somewhere in his heart he knew this was Hyrule.

And he had no answer to the question: what happened?

The speculative sky held no answers for him, save a light drizzle that forced Vincent and Barret to pause gameplay to erect a giant canvas above them. The Tiny Bronco was now a floating tent, and deprived of the beauty of the sky Tifa rolled around to stare into the waters. Link did the same.

Perhaps if all things were equally beautiful, Link wouldn't have held such a preference for the sea. One thing that made the waters more beautiful that the land was in the Lifestream: far away from Shinra's fingers, it still flowed strong, light shimmers of green beneath the depths of the light blue. Here the Planet did not cry, or at least did not cry as loudly. Smiling lightly he traced the glowing weaves with his finger, moving his arm like a conductor to a hidden orchestra.

The Tiny Bronco had brought them far out enough that you could not see any landmass, but there were a few telltale signs of where the ground stands. Off in certain directions the Lifestream weakens, its glow less vibrant as it runs thinner than normal. If Link peered for long enough he could see something draining the Lifestream, an unnatural blackness that slowly drank the colour around it.

Right now though, with night approaching, hunting for any blackness would be a wasted cause. Cloud pulled out several sleeping bags from the Tiny Bronco's compartment, and as Cid did a few quick checks before running out of natural light he bore the plane north west slightly before killing the engine. As if nature was there helping them, the sea sway would carry them towards their destination, rather than drift them away.

Link wondered how many were like him, gifted to see the Lifestream and hear the soft voices of nature. The canvas blocked out some of the starlight, and hid the full moon from view, but the backwash of earthly green shimmering with the sea made up for it. Here, with the soothing lapping of water against the sides, the gentle winds teasing across the canvas, he could imagine the Planet whispering to him...

Just as he was about to nod off, Link's eyes flared open. Something _was_ whispering to him!

_Greetings, Ancient._ _It is good I finally caught your attention._

Link tilted his head from side to side: everyone was asleep, so it wasn't one of them speaking. Besides, none of them could speak straight into his mind. Link furiously blocked out Barret's snores to concentrate on the voice. "Who are you?" he whispered back.

_I come under many names, but I shall give you the ones you are more acquainted with. I am the Water God, Da-Chao, and to those who reside outside the island of Wutai, Leviathan._

Well, this was interesting. Link never had beings he couldn't see talk with him. "How come you can speak with me?"

Although he couldn't see it, he was sure it was smiling. _Let us say Fate has made it most convenient for us. You drank the draught of the Faerun, which lets you communicate with beings whose time has passed, yet stretches on. Water is my element, where I wield the greatest power, and above the seas you lie near where the Lifestream pulses the strongest. You hold my Materia, the contract which calls for my service. It helps that your vessel approaches your magic._

Link's mouth twitched slightly. "I thought I lost it, centuries ago. Anyway, why do you speak with me?" Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the summoning Materia Yuffie dropped, and could see it glow slightly

A pause of silence. Just before Link gave up craning his ears and assumed the being gone, Leviathan spoke up. _The Traveller has found the Daughter. Your vessel will not reach Her before He does. You, her ally, might save Her, but only if you arrive in time._

Comprehension dawned, both sickening and hopeful. "Sephiroth knows where Aeris is," he muttered, "and you will help us save her."

_Yes. Awaken your allies, and call upon one of them to summon with the Materia you hold._

Extricating himself out of the sleeping back, Link hopped around to gently rouse everyone from their slumber. In the dark this involved a bit of stepping on people, but other than a footprint on Cloud's jaw and a few nursed fingers everyone was looking at Link intently.

"Wha's 'e problem," Cid yawned, rubbing his eyes tiredly, "why've ya called us up? No sea monster attack, is it?" He grinned at his joke.

"There's a way to reach the Northern Continent faster," Link said, straight to the point. That caught Cloud's attention. "Someone has to summon with this Materia."

There was a muffled "Hey!" from Yuffie when she noticed it missing from her personage, but Cloud wasn't bothering to go into details of where it came from and why it'll help. "Tifa, you have the strongest magic among us present," he stated, turning to face her, "you can summon best." Nodding to Link, Link tossed the Materia into Tifa's hands. It was weird to hear Cloud give commands, for even as their appointed group leader everyone usually had a fair say.

"Okay," she answered uncertainly, creating a small diamond with her thumbs and index fingers where the Materia rested. Closing her eyes, Link could see the Lifestream stir slightly beneath them, the light tendrils of magic flowing past her arms into the Materia.

_Hold tight._

Before Link could relay that warning to anyone else, the Tiny Bronco bucked, flying free from the water before falling back in. Vincent accidentally dropped his cards into the sea from the sudden movement, adding it to the casualty lists of Yuffie's toilet paper, Cid's spare cigarettes and a third of their healing potions. Some managed to steady their feet when the plane bucked again, leaning dangerously forward as their supplies threatened to spill away.

"What the 'ell?" Barret roared, clinging tightly to the wing. "It ain't no sea monster, is it?"

The waters boiled beneath them, frothing and steaming angrily when the plane rose the third time. This time however, instead of unceremoniously falling back down, it started travelling forward at great speed. It was a good thing Barret stood near the end, for he acted as a buffer to prevent the lighter people flying off the plane.

The night winds were freezing, a fact Link learnt to appreciate with his fingers tightly clinging to the cold metal supports of the Tiny Bronco. They lost their canvas, but at the speeds they were going at no one was going to notice the drizzle. Cautiously looking down, Link got a glimpse of their mysterious benefactor.

The phrase 'giant snake' would fail to properly describe Leviathan, although may give an inkling to its proportions. The Tiny Bronco, resting on top of its head, meant that Link only had a good view of its body and the motions it used to propel them rapidly through the water. Now and then he would hear a loud exhalation, steam rising from below to warm his frozen fingers.

Cid, after getting over the shock of jarring motion, positively enjoyed the icy spray against his skin. "When Ah said sea monster, Ah really didn' mean it!" he yelled back cheerfully, the whistling gales drowning out most of his words. Unperturbed though, he pulled down his goggles and stood at the plane's front, a conquering pioneer for the world of wind.

Tifa smiled slightly, the only person smart enough to keep on clinging to a blanket. With Barret's burly frame to prevent them from falling off, she and Yuffie were huddled beneath it. "So that's how Aeris will get there, she probably summoned Titan or Odin to help her get across." Smiling even wider, she considered, "Maybe even Bahamut – I can picture it now, Aeris riding on top of a death delivering dragon." Yuffie was more concerned to get Vincent to move aside and stop his cloak flapping near her face. When he finally did, she focussed her attention on getting Cloud to move left a little bit and act as her personal windshield.

"When are we going to reach there?" Link shouted down to the glittering scales, watching one trunk of the body submerge while another ascended. It was like a whip motion, or a slinky, a wave on one end carrying down until the other end, but with infinitely more grace and power.

_You need not shout,_ Leviathan replied amused, _I hear all voices fine. But to your question, we will arrive with dawn._

Six hours, compared to Cid's original prediction of seventy two. If the Tiny Bronco was chugging on at roughly forty kilometres an hour, that meant Leviathan was pushing them ahead at a whopping four hundred and eighty. Another exhalation of steam brought the warmth back to his fingers.

Looking around, everyone seemed to be coping well with the cold. Cid didn't seem fazed by the frost collecting on his eyebrows and hair, and Cloud's armour was proving as efficient against cold as it was against hits. Barret had enough bulk on him to ignore the cold, and near his feet Yuffie and Tifa were huddled together, but this time with Red XIII nearby for his furry coat. Vincent seemed untouched, wrapped in his cloak.

Which just left Link out there, wishing he brought some gloves and cursing the thinness of ninja material – great stuff for stealth, but in the temperate weather of Wutai clearly not suitable for cold. At least he got periodic steam puffs to warm him up. It didn't help that as they headed further north, they left the warmer tropics and the wind was getting increasingly cold.

_Ah, my apologies. I forgot some are not as resilient to temperature as I am._

Link watched in fascination as a stream of water travelled upwards to the base of the Tiny Bronco, and staying a small distance away from the engines changed into steam, letting the warm vapours banish the cold.

Link smiled gratefully. "Thanks," he muttered, moving to sit down. There was still five hours to go, so might as well get comfortable.

Those five hours were spent in a form of half sleep, the gentle rocking of the Tiny Bronco coupled with the soothing warmth from the continuous steam lulling many to doze off. When Link was about to nod off to sleep, Leviathan gave as much warning as it did the first time.

_Prepare yourselves._

The only other warning they got was the loss of the steam. Suddenly bombarded by the chill winds, everyone was shocked awake and complaining. With the small lance of light from the some clearing the horizons, they could see a landmass quickly approaching. A loud bang along with a sharp bounce told Link that they hit water, and the Tiny Bronco continued its forward motion with sharp skids.

When the Gods wanted to play skipping stones, this is probably how they do it. Link faintly heard Cloud yell, "Brace!" but it was of little use: in seconds the plane struck the coast, and with the increased friction sent everyone tumbling off it.

"Man that was sweet!" Cid crowed from his position on the sand, whooping and cheering as he rolled off Red XIII. "Link, ya gotta call on yer pal to do that again!"

Yuffie didn't look so cheerful, her face slightly green. Quickly scrabbling towards the sea, she wasted no words with warnings before heaving yesterday's lunch out. Staggering slightly, Barret was soon to follow.

The trek to the nearest village was surprisingly monster free, perfect scenery complete with twittering birds, crystal clear rivers and a quaint line of smoke that pointed out where the village was. As they approached Link could hear the rhythmic ting of excavation. A signboard poorly stuck in the ground declared: 'Welcome to Bone Village: Ideal for Nature Lovers'.

It was soon apparent why it had the word 'bone' as part of its name, given the giant skeleton everyone appeared to be gently chiselling out of the earth. A few houses were erected shabbily, with most of the residents living in tents. Tifa stared curiously at the giant dinosaur skeleton; the empty eye sockets stared back.

"Welcome, good tourists, welcome!" One excavator noticed the groups arrival, and gently setting down his utensils approached the group with a cheerful smile. "My, this is more patronage than we usually receive a month, I'm sure our flyers are working superbly! Advertising space is hard to come by, especially with Shinra's monopoly of practically everything." He sighed theatrically, wiping a layer of dirt off his moustache.

"Flyers?" Link shook his head apologetically. "Sorry, but I can't say that we came here from your advertising."

The man looked downright disheartened. "No? Are you sure? But I designed them myself!" Wiping away a dramatic tear, he sighed heavily, gazing into the forests beyond. "But two other people came before you. The girl seemed quite interested, but left quickly. The man seemed in a hurry too." Shrugging, he looked downcast. "Youths of today, they just can't appreciate beauty. Black cloak, white hair, how fashion senses change!"

Cloud shot everyone a grim look. Sephiroth. "Where did they go?"

The man pointed to the forests. "Fools, they went into the Sleeping Forest. I warned them it is folly without the Lunar Harp, but they didn't listen to me." Looking at the group with sudden interest, he added, "If you want to follow them, my fellows and I can help you retrieve the Lunar Harp."

"Why is the Harp so important?" Vincent asked coolly, surveying the forest.

"Ah, you see, to gain safe passage through the Sleeping Forest you must wake it up. If you don't, you'll be eternally lost within its mazes." Lowering his voice conspirationally, the man added, "It is said that a great battle was fought nearby, hundred and hundred of years ago, between two titans with the fate of humanity resting on one's success. This battle was violent and merciless-"

"Like you wouldn't believe," Link laughed bitterly. The man stopped in his story, uncertain where to go.

"Umm, yes, well, that war left behind a myriad of after-effects. One is the infusion of magic into the surrounding area, one so deep and profound not even centuries could wear it off, and another is a heap of mystical items nearby." Smiling broadly at the excavation site, he proclaimed proudly, "For the price of only two hundred silver pieces per man, you can hire us to dig out the Lunar Harp, and anything else for you."

Cloud frowned slightly. It was clear he didn't believe in this nonsense, but he didn't want to risk wasting time inside the Sleeping Forest, if what was said is true. "Alright," he agreed reluctantly, "I'll see what you guys can churn out."

Shepherding the rest of the group inside a nearby house, the man called over a few of his companions to finalise the final exchanges with Cloud. Seeing as they wouldn't be going anywhere soon, Barret led them over to the bar, pretty much commanding them to sit and relax.

"Well," he rumbled, returning with six jugs of beer and a bowl of it balanced on his head, "speak up Link."

"What?"

"Ya know, yer 'like ya wouldna' believe' speech. Wha's that all about?" It was a testament to his dexterity that he didn't let a single drop of beer escape during his progression. Resting the mugs down and giving the bowl to Red XIII (and ignoring his soft complaint of "I don't drink alcohol") he kicked a chair out for himself.

"Oh, that." Link looked at his mug glumly. Thinking about it, Link never really drank alcohol before. He sort of liked the loosening of the senses it gave him, a brief relaxation from the usual tensions of life. "Many Cetra devised various ways to take down Jenova." Gesturing to the forest outside, he continued, "Someone tried to cast a deep spell of sleep, on so heavy nothing could wake the target up. It looked like it would work, except for just before it finalised itself Jenova escaped the trap. Two hundred Cetra died to give their energies behind that wasted spell."

The most sound came from the barman in the distance wiping clean his wineglasses. Link took a large gulp of beer, and resumed. "Someone else believed this could only be done the usual war-faring way: soldiers. That person built a lot of powerful weapons, and trained a few hundred to use them. This slowed down Jenova's attack to the heart of Cetra civilisation, but in the end didn't manage to kill her. Seven hundred died from the attrition. Remember all those rifles down in the Temple of the Ancients? I wouldn't be surprised if one of them came from this attempt."

Link glanced outside, where Cloud was taking temporary shelter. A large explosion rocked the place, and Cloud left from his shelter covered in a layer of dirt. He did not appear very happy. "There was one final desperate tactic, one to awaken something called WEAPON." Link bit his lip and took a deeper swallow. The faint buzz gave him a sort of floating feeling. "My Black Ice spell made sure we didn't need to go that extreme. Twelve thousand Cetra died to build up that spell, twenty one thousand from its effects, and another seventy thousand from the residue contamination of Jenova." Chuckling over his drink, Link drew the tomb inscriptions in the air. "In all my travels, I was known for killing hundred at a go, emptying battlefields, silencing fortresses and obliterating factions. That was the first time I actually killed an entire race." Finishing his mug, he promptly took Vincent's.

"There is some beauty, in death," Link slurred, pausing his commentary when another explosion shook the place, "its freedom. You don't suffer anymore, there is no pain, no anguish. Jenova only saw beauty in power, because she feared death more than anything else. Her power grew so great, as did her fear, that," with a burp of a laugh, Link looked at each one of them eye to eye, "She. Could. Not. Die.

"What is holding her here? To this mortal realm, the one of torment and destruction? I don't know," with a forlorn shake of his head he put down Vincent's cup and took up Tifa's, "but I have my guesses. Maybe she has grown so powerful her stink averted death. Maybe this power mutated Saria's Kokiri youth to a deformed extreme. Maybe," another explosion outside, and you could hear Cloud's yells as he was now totally brown, "there was one final beauty."

Draining Tifa's cup, he reached for Yuffie's but Cid stopped him. "Maybe Saria hasn't died totally," he swayed morosely, resting his chin in his crossed arms, "maybe she was waiting for me. Maybe she could not go, until she knew I put everything alright, and will be ready to go with her. Maybe..." Raising his head suddenly, he turned his eyes towards Yuffie and Tifa. "Have I told you how beautiful you two are? Aeris too, all three of you. Cloud is a lucky man." Link's chuckles grew weaker. "Could you believe... that Jenova grew inside... a body... just as... beautiful..."

A fourth explosion rocked the place, and Cloud's explicit swearing was muffled somewhat by Link's snores. Barret glanced sorrowfully at his sleeping form. "Tough times, tough times," he rumbled, shaking his head.

"Well," Cid said, his jovial tone broken somewhat by the feeling hidden behind it, "our good ol' Link cahn't handle his alcohol."

"So what do we do with him?" Red XIII ventured, waiting for the clatter of loose rock against the window to subside before continuing. "My recommendation is to let him sleep the alcohol off. Someone should stand ready, in case he vomits."

Plans settled, it was noticed that the beer given to them had the potency of vodka, and since only Link drank it, no one else realised until later. Tifa offered to carry him into the inn above, and everyone else went outside to see what had Cloud so angry.

"It's all bloody junk!" Tifa could here Cloud rant when the door opened, "We're wasting time here! I swear, this is the last time I'm paying you nimrods to get me the bloody Harp and not toy trinkets! If I wanted to buy litter, I wouldn't do it here!"

When Link finally awakened, it was to the splitting headache that seared him. A bleary look around proved it was too dark to tell whether he was alone or not, but as his senses slowly sharpened the moonlight filtering in told him his room was unoccupied. Sitting up groggily, it appeared that everyone else was kind enough to give him his own room, while they shared the other two.

"Note to self," Link muttered, clutching his head, "alcohol is evil. I need fresh air." Halting to contemplate his words, he nodded resolutely (and winced from the pain that motion caused) and gingerly freed himself from the blankets. One hand touching the wall he guided himself downstairs and outside.

The crisp night air worked immediately, reducing the headache and returning some strength into his body. Inhaling deeply, he could smell the residue scent from explosions mixed with fresh earth. Looking up at the moon, Link guessed that it was probably two in the morning, and given the silence of the area, no one was so dedicated as to work at this ungodly hour.

"Ah, the 'junk' Cloud collected," Link smiled slightly, remembering a few words from his previous haze. His smile dropped into a frown as he realised he couldn't remember everything he said before. Shrugging and expecting whatever he did to return to him later, Link opened the battered crate to take a look in.

Most normal eyes would find that they would need more than just moonlight and shadows to see clearly, but Link's were – under some slow evolution without dying – well accustomed to the dark, and the necessity to see well when they don't expect you to. A lot of it was junk – tacky rings and necklaces, meant to be consolation prizes to those ignorant tourists – but just as he was about to shut the crate and head back, one amulet in particular caught his eye.

The chord that held it was gone; eroded away with the decay time delivered, but beneath the grime Link could see its detail hadn't faded. The small circular plate was meant to resemble a full moon, inside the circle a tree. Link could only dare to hope that this was what he thought it was. Furiously wiping away the dirt from both sides, the intricacy became clear: mild tempering was used to create the shadows of craters on the moon, as well as the dimensions of the tree. Held to the moonlight the amulet glowed brightly, making the tree more pronounced with the holy white glow surrounding it.

Holding the amulet tightly, Link pressed his fist to his heart, and heard the Lifestream's song. It praised and cheered, dancing beneath him and daring to reach up and grace him with its touch. The amulet close to his heart, Link could feel an old feeling, one of a growing bubble of life and power float through his being, and not daring to believe, he dropped into a stance, and in a blaze of light green completed a number of revolutions, cutting through the air with ease.

The spin attack. But with magic.

_It helps that your vessel approaches your magic. _That's what Leviathan said. Hangover gone, or at least forgotten, Link raised his fist in a jubilant cry, tears of hope, remembrance, and injury, falling from his cheeks unnoticed.

Link ignored the lights appearing in the inn's bedroom windows, and the words his friends were calling down to it. The moon, the tree, the amulet...

Link found his magic.

_-S-_

A/N: Sorry for the very, very, very (add as many as needed) slow update. If you read the A/N from above, homework swamped me. I forgot how soothing writing fanfiction can get, and recently am replaying FF7 to get back in touch with the story.

The poem (or song) came from Vladimir the Hamster, so three cheers to her for accepting my request to write one for me. Forgive me if this chapter doesn't have all that much monster bashing I usually tend to write about, but it was meant to be a rejuvenator – something to awaken the long slumber this story has rested in, and to fill in some details and answer a few questions some of my readers might have.

So, yeah: Link got magic, in the form of an amulet. It's not perfect, of course, as you'll find in following chapters. As soon as my exams are done (two weeks – how time flies) I'll have plenty of holiday time to resume writing at 100 efficiency (rather than my present 2), so maybe you can expect me to take a bit less time than I did on this. Heck, I wrote this chapter within 2 days.

And the reason why I worked at such speeds: my sister's birthday. Perhaps not the best gift I can deliver, but on the 5th December she will be celebrating (very humbly, I must say) her birthday, and an update to end her complaints of my procrastination is a gift I deliver not to her, but to you all (anyone else has a birthday in December? I'll update by then for you guys too). So if you can, drop a 'Happy Birthday' note in your comments and criticisms: I'll really appreciate it, and I'm sure she will even more so.

So, with a slightly more cheerful ending in such a sorrow filled tale, wait with anticipation for the next instalment. Until then, see you!


	14. Chapter 13

A/N: The time will be... 00:00:00 of Year 2006, January the 6th. Voice message activated:

-heavy hacking-  
And a Happy Birthday to **Koppa,**  
You brew a real mean cuppa,  
Jumping out of closets yelling "gotcha",  
The caffeine and shock makes you a literal heart-stoppa!  
-wheeze in relief, and end of voice message-

Well, that was what this chunk was meant to say. But I kept on procrastinating, and then it got late, I got sleepy, and then on the 6th we were off somewhere, and so I didn't have that extra time to polish up on this chapter. But what the hey: the thought counts. Even if it is a bit belated. Good times, Koppa, and may you have a good year ahead of you.

... And the time NOW is 12:56am, 29th of March, 2006. Okay... A very belated birthday wish, but things came up and scared me. I'll explain later. Still, may you have a good... 10 months more ahead of you. And may you live another 10 decades more.

Chapter 13:

_He remembered a time, long ago, when his greatest fear was the domination of his country by an evil man. He remembered a time, long ago, when he raised the shield of valour and took arms to end the tyranny. He remembered a time, long ago, when a fair princess believed him robbed of seven years, and using her ocarina gave them back to him._

_Link wanted to laugh. The fever was receding, but Saria said he shouldn't strain himself. Seven years, seven years! What is seven years, to seven hundred? If he was to declare being robbed of something, it would be those seven hundred. Forget returning him back seven years, and ending the timeline filled with the people he fought and bled for; those were the men and women who saw him as he was, a hero of the nation. When he was sent back, no one remembered, no one cared, and by the time all the Sages awakened within their hosts, Link was gone._

_They were still floating in the abyss of space, Link noticed. Somehow, alone, Saria managed to project them out of the swamp and bog planet, and set them onto a course heading... somewhere. Somehow she made a platform for Link to rest on, a platform that would stabilise and create artificial gravity to hold him down and simulate life supporting services. Never knowing what would happen to a sick person with no gravity, Saria ensured the platform will emulate Hyrule as much as possible._

_He was amazed she could remember Hyrule, and create the scents of fresh grass, of falling dewdrops and of ageing bark. Not just scents, but sounds! A river trickling, the gentle wind between the leaves, the magical allure of the Lost Woods. And with the scents it would slowly fade and change, becoming the yelling of vendors, haggling of buyers and laughter of children at play to join the festive smell of roasting food, sweet and pollen. With his eyes closed, Link could imagine that he was really there, and resting near the Market Square fountain, and that this dream – this nightmare – of being trapped by the maze with no walls was simply that, a dream..._

_But no._ _In a desperate cling to reality, his eyes would flare open, but instead of the forest canopy above, or the tiled roofs with their smoking chimneys, or Navi wondering what he was doing lying on the ground, there would be nothing. The empty bleakness, a reminder that all the horrors he faced were real, and that the sounds and smells were nothing but illusions. _

_And they floated, Saria and he, on this platform of stabilised magic off in the great maze of space, and through the pains that wracked his body with the unjustness of their sorry existence Link would cry, letting his tears fall silently so as not to break the wishful illusion Saria made for his recovery. And watching his face, she would wipe them away, and fill the artificial air with a greater magic, playing the sorrowful tune of memory, of hope, of tragedy._

_And the tears would keep falling, and the ocarina would keep playing..._

_­-S-_

"What do you mean we don't need the Lunar Harp?" Cloud cried out, staring at the dirty musical instrument in his hands. "I've spent over two thousand silver pieces just digging for this bloody thing, and you say we don't need it?"

Link smiled apologetically. "Sorry, but what you need is music – my ocarina would have sufficed. While the Lunar Harp was made by the Cetra to navigate through the Sleeping Forest, I once went through just whistling. Sorry," he mentioned again at Cloud's disbelieving face.

Red XIII hummed in thought. "That would make sense, for if one specific object is required to go through the Sleeping Forest, then either Aeris or Sephiroth would have taken it."

Cloud frowned at the Lunar Harp. "So all that trash from our guide that this was specially made by the ancient civilisations for passage through the Sleeping Forest was really trash?" It was a lot to bear: bravely fighting the dirt and debris, knees shaking from blast after blast and breathing in more dust than considered wise, just to find that the time, effort and money spent was all wasted. Why did Link have to go and get drunk then? The evils of alcohol.

"Our guide was telling the truth," Link replied with a slight smile, fingering the amulet that rested on a new cord, "that the Lunar Harp was specially made. You see, the Cetra were a rather flamboyant race, and liked music a lot. So their musical instruments consisted of very big things: building-sized collection of bells, harpsichords that take up walls, their smallest instrument I remember being a double bass larger than me. They needed to specially make something small to carry through the forest."

"Why not whistle?" Barret frowned, glancing to make sure the entire group was assembled, "Yeh said yeh whistled yer way through." Aside from Yuffie, who was taking the time to play cautious and relieve the miners of possible relics, only Vincent didn't have his things packed and ready to go, so busy admiring a pistol as he was.

"It's an eight hour journey. You'll have to keep on whistling, and your lips will start hurting after that." Although granted that some people appeared to be able to keep on talking forever, there probably were exceptions to that law of anatomy.

Cloud sighed, letting his fingers drift across the taut strings. Although recently excavated from over four metres of mud, it produced a beautiful sound. Maybe it was a good thing to have Link play his ocarina – perhaps the Forest is picky in that it wants real music, and he doubted anyone could play a harp any better than a tangle of confused notes.

"Yo, Yuffie!" Barret yelled to the yellow ninja, breaking her concentration and making her drop a small green bag, "We know yeh like bones, but stop nickin' 'em and get a move on!" Yuffie hastily picked up her dropped parcel, checked no one heard Barret's proclamation and with a few acrobatic leaps reached the group's spot.

"What is with you bellowing at the top of your voice?" She hissed, eyes darting at the sleepy town to ensure no one heard. "Can't you see that I follow a very delicate line of work? I don't need a big oaf like you to spoil it."

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, before turning to face Vincent and yelling out some rather rude things about being interested in metal tubes, catheters and finishing with a particular biting remark on eunuchs. Everything fell silent as Vincent flicked his eyes at Barret and slowly approached, his emotionless face revealing nothing. A miner left a hut whistling a jaunty tune, but upon sensing the atmosphere, decided to believe in his horoscope and promptly turned around and went back indoors.

Clawed arm extending, Vincent stood close to Barret and patted his shoulder. "My good friend," he said brotherly, a smile almost twitching at his lips, "before you insult my... manhood, please note where said metal tube is pointing. It is called a barrel, not a tube, by the way." He was clearly smiling

Barret looked down, and gulped. All the other males in the group chose to look away. The awkward silence was only broken by Yuffie's words of "Go on, I want to see what happens!" and Tifa's shushing gestures.

"Well," Barret said in a somewhat strangled voice, "now that we're all 'ere, we can make a move on."

"Yes, lets." Barret suddenly preferred Vincent when the creepy bastard wasn't smiling. Life, and future production of it, was safer that way.

Link's music may have felt out of touch to the occasion, his jovial tune juxtaposing the seriousness of finding Aeris. Cloud still wore that expression of grit and after fighting down smiles from the previous scenario Red XIII returned to his troubled look. The Forest much prettier than the last time Link saw it – back then his Black Ice magic battled against its own magic, leaving the land a mix of leaves and ice – and he couldn't help feel that it was a good sign he found the amulet the Cetra gave to him.

"You can throw magic around now, eh?" Cait Sith said when he arrived earlier on. "Why don't you show us a few tricks?"

"I can't, not right now. This thing needs the moon's gravity for it to work," Link explained back then, "and even then I can't remember a lot of spells anymore. The sword spin I can remember, ingrained from a couple centuries of use, but the rest..."

The Cetra were a powerful race of spellcasters, demonstrated in their ability to learn Link's own magic, and creating the amulet. They called it a half-complete job, for in his haste to follow Jenova's trail out of the Planet, they could only make something that drew on the Lifestream half the time. By the time he returned, still hunting Jenova, time ran out, and no one could be spared to make another amulet. One person less on the battlefield meant Jenova would cut them down faster.

But back to the present: Cloud's mood, while silent determination in the beginning, seemed to fall into a deeper darkness as they traversed deeper through the Sleeping Forest. To anyone who didn't know him well enough, his stony face was as stony as always. But telltale signs – flickering eyes, compressed lips, clenching knuckles – told people like Tifa that something was going on.

"What's the matter?" she asked cautiously when his eyes darted to a particular section, a frown visibly forming as he slowed down to stare at it.

"I know this place," he muttered, eyes tracing the boughs and shade, "I saw it before. In my dreams, Aeris talked to me here." Yuffie rolled her eyes, but a warning look from Tifa prevented her from making any remarks about it. Turning, he slowly approached the glade, trying to remember what Aeris said, not knowing what to expect.

What he did not expect was for a rock to hit him in the face. Crying out in obvious pain, Cloud staggered back holding his nose as whatever it was took a second shot at him. Link could hear a soft voice laughing in amusement as the stone rolled before smacking Cloud square between the eyes and skittering away.

"The Sleeping Forest didn't come with ghosts, did it?" Cait Sith mewed as the stone – coloured red, they noticed, although whether from natural properties or Cloud's bleeding nose they weren't sure – took another pot shot at their injured leader. Ricocheting off a tree, it screamed towards Cloud's head for a final damaging hit...

... And got stuck in the tangled growth known as his hair. Yuffie couldn't help but fall down laughing.

"Oh, yug it up 'Uffay," Cloud grumbled, still holding his nose. Sombre mood broken, he staggered towards the group, this time sending Cid down in raucous laughter at the neat imprint the stone made on his forehead. Tifa quickly approached, magic swelling as she readied a healing spell to take care of his broken nose.

The stone, entrapped in a world in desperate need of combing, still struggled as Barret tugged it free, incidentally pulling a few strands of hair with it. Sealed within his tight grasp, it gave up trying to break free, finally resting still as most stones are meant to.

"Oi, this ain't no pretty pebble," he rumbled, lifting the stone for all to see, "it's a Materia! I can feel it, summonin' magic!" Clasped only with his index finger and thumb, it suddenly squirmed free, shooting towards Cloud again before being snatched out of the air by Vincent.

_Aw, you're no fun. Kjata only wants to play..._

Link raised an eyebrow, but continued playing. When Vincent released it to drop it into the bag filled with extra Materia, it took the opportunity to clothesline Cloud once more before falling still. There was a pause of music, and Barret was about to take the opportunity to crack a demeaning joke on Cloud's state when Vincent coughed and politely holstered his gun.

There was another pause, in which Tifa managed to fix up Cloud. After a queasy glance at Vincent, Barret barked at everyone to get moving. Link wisely kept on playing.

He supposed that the enchanting air of the forest was causing this sense of relaxation, despite the urgency of their progression. The Sleeping Forest... what a quaint name. Everything was dulled, with monster activity near non-existent.

It seemed that the only times Link ever felt such peace was within the surrounds of trees. In Hyrule, the only time he never needed to swing his blade was before he got one, within the safety of the Kokiri Forest. All worries were childish worries, minor qualms of not wanting to eat the same meal for the seventh time in a row, trying to find enough Deku vines to repair the ladder... it was all just fun and play, to play in the brook and in the trees, among the birds and among leaves, with friends like...

The music warbled slightly as Link paused in concentration. Who were his friends?

There were the brothers, always telling Link how to swim and which plants not to eat... The oldest kept scolding Link of the dangers from living above ground, like what would you do if the balcony collapsed, or the ladder snapped, and the difficulties of plumbing... The youngest never failed to recite ancient poems that used to make no sense in their reverence of destiny and the ordained truth...

Destiny; how Link hated that word. His ocarina stayed at a sharp note, biting the ears of those listening, before moulding into a jagged tune. Was Ganondorf destined to usurp the Hylian King, to slaughter thousands in the name of revolution, to raise horrors as his police force? Was the Great Deku Tree destined to die, and was the Forest Link loved so much destined to tumble into disrepair and death? They say that Link was destined to stop him, but why did that not quell the fear that destiny will not ensure his victory?

And then what – was it Link's destiny to bring Saria into the Lost Woods, and get lost within the infinite realms of existence and space? Was it destiny that determined Navi and Shael should die, that the Hero of Time, once the champion for good, become nothing more than a common mercenary who would slay entire battalions just to go home? Was it destiny that determined there will be no home?

Link sighed, taking a breather from the music. The sky was tinged with scarlet, the red glow casting an almost angelic glow around the boughs and leaves. Nature's resilience was perhaps the only constant in his sorry life; human frailty perhaps the next.

No, Link couldn't believe that destiny, the tool of the Goddesses, would be so cruel. But what other explanation was there? The only one Link could think of wasn't any better.

Destiny abandoned him. He was needed to ensure Hyrule's regeneration, and then he wasn't needed anymore. The Goddesses didn't care about him, for he was another pawn, another tool, in their play over the world. Why would they care, now that Ganondorf is sealed? Who needs a Hero when there's nothing to save? Let him get lost, let him bring his friends and wander through the continuum of space. Let him lose his faith, let him lose his memories, let him lose his fairy, let him lose his friend... and let him gain a monster.

And then was it destiny that Saria should die, and Jenova be born? Was it destiny that millions should suffer because of Destiny's lapse of care over Link's fate? Or was the whole thing destined: were the deaths of children and planets preordained, were the collapses of empires and ecosystems already determined, was Saria chosen...

Oh, how Link wanted to laugh. Destiny had a lot to answer for, yet Destiny will not answer them.

His sombre mood seemed to affect everyone. The tragic melody – reminiscent to the Serenade of Water – wafted between the people and the trees, lending the failing light a poignant hue. Even the Kjata Materia, which Cloud took the pains in wrapping it tightly in string to prevent any further surprises, laid still, the magic that echoed through it subdued.

"How long 'til we get there?" Cid asked, squinting at the falling sun, "Ah don' wanna walk t'long when it's dark, but Ah don' wanna rest 'ere either, 'specially if someone's gotta toot some music so we ain't lost."

Link lowered the ocarina, shielding his eyes so as to get a better profile of the sun. "We left around afternoon, so I expect we should reach there in another three hours." Sunlight seemed to be in short supply at the very north, with only eight hours of daylight. Link was impressed that five hours already passed; his thoughts must have occupied him longer than he thought.

"Three hours, huh?" Tifa mused, sitting on Red XIII's back. Somewhere along the journey she started letting Red XIII do the walking for her, choosing to sit cross-legged on the red wolf than walk. Yuffie shot a baleful glance at Red XIII; he refused to carry anyone weighted down with so many relics. Was he implying that she's fat? "I suppose it's not worth stopping for the night," Tifa continued, "and we really shouldn't waste any more time."

Cloud grunted in agreement. "Yeah. Keep on moving." Yuffie frowned at a rather heavy disc she pulled out of her sack; the guy she relinquished this relic off said that it was a constellation chart from hundreds of years ago and therefore worth a lot. Biting her lip in indecision, she chose not to throw it away – it's only going to be three hours, a little weight won't kill her.

Nodding Link returned the ocarina to his lips and continued playing. He played the ocarina for longer stretches of time, so eight hours non-stop wasn't anything too strenuous for him. In the Shadow Temple, music was the only thing that prevented him from going mad. The relief that the sound was real, among the illusions of sight and sensation... he could not trust his eyes, but at least he could trust his ears.

"_A little bit of music goes a long way. Never give up playing, Link."_

Saria was always eager for Link to play the ocarina. Of course, in the beginning only Saria had an ocarina, meaning that the time was either spent listening to her encouraging melodies or enduring his beginner screeches. Oh, how Link wanted to stop when Mido kept faking death whenever he heard the cacophony of warbling notes. Saria showed patience even the Great Deku Tree admired.

And look where it got him, the ability to play the ocarina. If he hadn't been able to, Termina would've been destined to die. Destiny...

No, best to leave that topic alone. Link had spent enough time arguing with the value of destiny, and that hasn't solved anything yet.

Cloud had paused momentarily in favour of flipping out a torch. A quiet shuffle followed by four other beams of light proved that the others did so as well. Link was somewhat irked that they didn't use those in the Temple of the Ancients, but at least they remembered to bring them out now. These things were thankfully better than the kerosene lamps of Link's days – more forest friendly.

"_They say that the forest spirits punish people who desecrate the Lost Woods. Any traveller who brings in fire gets turned into a Stalfos."_

Sadly, every traveller who entered the Lost Woods followed common logic that when night falls, the chances of getting out are larger if you can see your way. Since kerosene lamps were the only way at it, every traveller carried one, and thus every traveller became a Stalfos. Tragedy. Link used to laugh at Saria's tale, believing it a fable told to make sure he never endangered the forest flora. After all, it was the fairy partner's magic that protected the Kokiri.

Then again, Navi also kept telling Link not to play with fire. Maybe it was the fairy partner's warnings instead...

Fragments of Saria's words – Link idly wondered why they were coming to him now. Maybe it had something to do with his magic potential returning, although he never used to experience these moments of history before. Maybe it was due to his sleep within the mountains of Wutai, where his mind was given time to roam through the memories.

"_Suppositions, suppositions._ _Do they ever go anywhere?"_

Probably not. Still, Link couldn't help but wonder about Saria's words and her innumerable amount of aphorisms. Maybe it was something to do with living forever – you're bound to start stringing words together to make wise sayings. His travels never allowed him to; he was either killing, finding home, dying, hunting.

How long has he spent hunting Jenova? Too long, far too long. Sometimes Link wondered about his purpose in life. Before it was to liberate countries, now it was to fix his greatest mistake. Link cracked a bitter smile around the mouthpiece – the tune fluttered momentarily. His first mistake was opening the Doors of Time, and he fixed that by hunting down Ganondorf. His last was bringing Saria to find Termina. Link hoped he'll fix that by hunting down Jenova.

"_Oh, relax. It's only a game._"

"We're here," Cloud announced, waving the group over, "the City of the Ancients." He didn't waste time to admire its crystalline form before walking down the trodden path, sword gripped in anticipation.

Under the starlight the City glowed like a structure made of fireflies, small speckles of light travelling in erratic but hypnotising patterns across the glassy surface. The central building, to which Cloud proceeded to, stood a giant spire of delicate crystal and silver architecture, the glistening of moonlight dew on its upper surfaces a beacon that drew the imaginary fireflies in a slowly ascending path.

Link smiled lightly once he pocketed his ocarina. Even after centuries the area stood preserved in its historical beauty. Ice hung as natural chandeliers on the balconies and roofs, refracting the ambient light as gentle strobes.

"_I always wanted to see the snow. One day we should live in an igloo!"_

Link's smile died of as he observed the crystalline buildings that surrounded the main edifice in a geometric arrangement. Once they housed children and parents, people whose greatest care was the preservation of the Planet's beauty. Then they housed soldiers, desperate militiamen summoned to the final frontier, already sick with the disease Jenova brought with her. The children were called into the main palace, where mothers hoped they would be safe. Then the soldiers fought and died, leaving the housing with no occupants. Now...

Link peered through a nearby house's window, noting its barren state. The same moss that grew in the Temple of the Ancients grew on the walls and ceiling, lighting the home with its earthly glow. In a forlorn clutch to its previous existence pillows were arranged around an oak table, mugs resting on a tray in the corner and the remnants of a board game scattered across the table. A lamp had even been placed nearby for to continue the family activity into the night, the moss loyally glowing brightly within the filaments.

But the home was not a home; the spiral staircase that would've led to the bedrooms upstairs collapsed, wooden steps unable to support the weight of the fallen roof. A slab of the ceiling, traced with the white fur of frost, rested uneasily on a teddy bear, the toy's fuzzy ears the only parts that escaped destruction. The Cetra's version of a radio, one that drew off the latent energies of the earth to function, hung precariously off the cabinet near the wall, body twisted from the forces of the collapsing roof, the snapped antenna scraping against the wall.

"_Where can you call home, when you have no place to stay? Can you call the streets, the hard cobblestones and the nightly cold home? Can you call the rain and the grime home?"_

Were the residents killed when the sky fell down? Had they left long before an errant shell struck their desolate home, and did they ever return? Link knew Jenova never managed to enter the heart of Cetra civilisation, but she was capable of casting her destructive magic kilometres upon kilometres away from her target. In an assault against the Cetra's tower of survival, was the house one of the casualties?

Link sighed and returned to the pavement, quickening his pace to prevent himself from being left behind. Others were glancing at the destroyed splendour that once existed, seeing the collapsed walls and caved in roofs, as if a monolithic beast had vented its anger with violent sweeps across the city.

"... where Aeris is, so it'd be best if we split into groups of three. One group should remain outside in case of anything unusual." Cloud was giving his orders, eyes darting across the main building's figure. "Cait Sith, Cid and Vincent, you guys go check out the left side; me, Tifa and Barret will do the same for the right. Red, Yuffie and Link, you three watch the entrance. If any of you find anything, call on the PHS."

"Yeh sure this is the right place?" Barret rumbled, looking down the speckled hallways. The dancing motes of light were creepy. "It's awfully large."

Cloud stared down the empty passages, his eyes hunting for something in the unseen distance. His grip on the Buster Sword tightened. "Yes. Now let's go."

As the six departed down their respective paths, Red XIII sighed, shaking his head. "I got a bad feeling about this," he muttered.

"I had a bad feeling ever since we followed Cloud and his silly dreams," Yuffie huffed, brushing the entrance step before sitting down. "We better be in the right place, for I honestly don't think that Aeris has that much time to spare, if Sephiroth's hot on her tail." Her eyes flicked to Red XIII's fiery tail.

Red XIII grunted in affirmation. "I would think it wiser that all of us go in to search rather than leave three of us outside. There is nothing productive we can do here." He followed Yuffie's example, flicking aside the crystalline gravel before sitting down.

"Yeah, well, Cloud's not been acting all that wise recently, eh?" Rustling through her accompanying sack, she handed Red XIII a protein bar before taking one for herself. "Want one, Link?"

"Hmm? Oh, no thank you," Link replied, still standing. He had been ignoring their conversation in favour of feeling the touch of magic, letting the moon's gravity raise the Lifestream to grace his form. His right hand clasped the amulet tightly.

"_You got to eat whenever you can, Link. In your profession, how do you know when the next meal comes along?"_

"You sure? Not even a rhubarb flavoured one?" Link smiled, but shook his head. "Alright, more for me then. I hope Cloud finds her fast – I can't eat too many of these things, after all. Still, the stars are pretty tonight."

Link had to agree to that; the stars shone brightly. He may not have lived in Midgar where the smog and the upper deck killed any chance of seeing the sky, but he did go to places where the industry of the military forced the sky to dim, leaving only miniature pinpricks of light to pass through the machineries' haze and dust. When people are killing one another, they're too busy to consider the sky.

"_I hate the killing, the deaths. The dead did not deserve to die. Every planet, Link, it happens in every planet. Why?"_

Link never had an answer to Saria's question. Men slaughtered men over a patch of dirt where all use from it has been bled out through attrition. Was it the nature of existence to merely die? That sentient beings should discover that coexistence is impossible, and the only way to survive is to be the only thing left surviving? Saria would never have liked those answers, so Link never said them.

"_I miss the Kokiri Forest. Sometimes I get dreams, dreams where the forest is lost to water and the Kokiri are forced to change. And I'm scared. Not because of the change, or the loss of the forest. I'm scared because _there are no fairies_."_

And this was all before Navi or Shael died. Those two would scoff at Saria's statement, cheerfully commenting that the fairies would last forever, so long as the Great Deku Tree lived and the Great Fairies were around. Link hoped that they were right, for their sake, and for Saria's.

"_Have you ever wondered what life would be like without magic? Where the fairies were normal people and the Lost Woods was just a normal forest? _ _How would life have been like without Ganondorf with his magic, or without you with yours?"_

Despite her own words against speculation, what else did they have to entertain their imaginations deep within space? Navi seemed insulted that Saria would consider her as anything but a fairy, although Shael took it in good stride. There wouldn't be any Kokiri either, she noted, without the Great Deku Tree's magic to keep them eternally young. They wouldn't be out here, Link mentioned, without the Lost Woods magic and portals.

Yuffie wanted another confirmation that Link did not want a protein bar, before devouring her third confection. Glancing at the wrappers, she consumed a rhubarb, a blackberry and a mango flavoured bar. Shaking his head, Link pulled the magic closer in, letting the tingle of its passage travel up his limbs and into his fingers. After so long without feeling the warmth of magic, it was like entering a warmth bath after a cold day outside, a wave of electricity before the peace comes soothing in...

"_I've always wondered, Link: if you can wield magic, why do you insist on using a sword to kill?"_

Traditionalism, maybe. Link found killing with magic unfair, for most of the time those we was ordered to destroy were standard soldiers, employing the use of bows and swords, with the occasional technologically advanced missile weapon. The sword is dependable – no matter the circumstances, a sword strike will injure, maim or murder, depending on intention. Magic never held that accuracy for Link – sometimes it will wash over the enemy without even touching a hair, most of the times it will burn ravenously, consuming skin and flesh and bone until only a memory is left behind.

"_I used to think that maybe it was something to do with responsibility. That you wanted to be up close, so that you could give your foe the respect that at least one person knew him, and respected him."_

That would've been an optimistic thought, one the Saria that used to carve wooden tablets for every man killed believed in. And then the numbers swelled as inexplicably planet after planet the need for greater bloodshed grew, reducing the wooden tablets into floating lanterns, and finally prayers into the winds. These men, for a brief moment, were known and respected, but ultimately forgotten.

"_I believe that there is a different reason behind your sword than respect. Something greater, something deeper."_

Greater...?

"_Their faces, Link. You want to be up close so you can see their faces and their pain as your sword is wrenched deeper into their gut, until spine and steel sticks out from the other side."_

Wait, this is not Saria...

"_You hate death, Link, but only deaths not wrought by your hands. But for the blood that stains your fingers and seeps into your fingernails, you love that."_

Link immediately dropped the magic, head snapping from one direction to the next. Red XIII was surprised by his sudden burst of activity. Looking at the main palace, Link took two deep whiffs of the air.

"_You love death, Link, the death that pools from your blade, and from your magic. And you know what?"_

The stink. _Her_ stink.

"_I love it too."_

He sprinted past the sitting pair, face grim and sword drawn. Pausing at an intersection, he took the moment to smell the air before choosing one corridor.

"Link! What's happening?" Yuffie cried, hastily putting things back into her sack and standing up. "Is something wrong?"

Link almost snarled. "_She_ is here."

_-S-_

The passages were long and winding, and it was clear that Barret doubted Cloud's decisions. Almost instinctively Cloud would pick a direction, and while these hallways didn't look alike, the sheer number of them was troubling enough.

"M' thinkin' tha' we're goin' down," Barret commented, drawing a glance from Tifa but no response from Cloud, "I'd have thought tha' if we're in a tower, we'd be goin' up 'nstead." Again, Cloud ignored him.

They reached a great hall, designed to be somewhat spherical in nature if one ignored the decorations of glacial stalactites and the frozen waterspouts. It was too large for the moss light that painted the rocks beneath to cover the entire area, but by convenience or design the rocks were placed to navigate towards the central pillars. Blue glittered the place, but Cloud didn't care about that, for kneeling within the looming constructs was...

"Aeris," he breathed. Tifa gasped and it looked like Barret wanted to yell something across the hall.

_Go to her._

Gesturing for Tifa and Barret to wait behind, Cloud slowly descended the steps, his gaze never leaving her praying form. What was she thinking, leaving them like that? At least now, within their sights, she is safe. Cloud couldn't help but let the relief swell within him.

_Cross the stone steps. Go to her._

It was a trance, it was a dream. Cloud didn't dare pinch himself in case that would break the dream. Aeris is safe. Smiling slightly he remembered the night within the Golden Saucer, and her characteristically playful manner. Aeris is safe.

_Draw your sword._

What was Aeris doing, kneeling in prayer? It isn't safe for her like this, so Cloud determined that him armed and ready will keep her safe. She may be within his sights, but he didn't want to get cocky. Not until the entire group was with them.

_Raise it._

Has Barret or Tifa called the others on the PHS yet? A lifted sword can be read in many ways: victory, a sign that they have accomplished their intended goal. A challenge, maybe; we are so close, and damn anyone who dares take Aeris away from us.

_Now strike._

No one must get Aeris. Aeris must be safe. Safe from everyone, but...

_Strike._ _Kill. KILL HER._

"CLOUD, WHA' IN BLAZES ARE YEH DOIN'?" Barret roared from across the room. Tifa was running closer, her face taut in panic. The trance snapped, and Cloud saw his blade, poised over Aeris' head, descending...

"_No!_" With a violent wrench he reversed his own momentum, forcefully kicking himself away from Aeris still form. The thump of his self-applied collision with one of the pillars jarred him, but hearing the clang of his sword against the marble stone was of greater priority than the pain. He almost killed Aeris... But now, at least Aeris is safe from him.

_If you won't then, I will._

In his position slumped against the pillar, Cloud was in the perfect position to see a shadow blot the illumination above. Looking up, the billow of a long black jacket looked like the scorched wings of a demon, the arcing sword the hungry tooth of a venomous snake. Move, Cloud commanded himself, but his body failed to respond. With growing urgency he screamed at his legs to move, but by the time he stumbled into a stand, Sephiroth was too close. Cloud could see the victorious smirk on Sephiroth's face. The blade's tip held Aeris' reflection.

Tifa screamed.

_CLAAAAANNNGG..._

Sephiroth landed on the ground, but his hands did not grasp his sword. Alerted by his proximity, Aeris flared to life, rapidly scrabbling away from him. Annoyed, Sephiroth glanced at the furthest pillar, where his sword was pinned to by another blade, one that bore Wutaian forging.

Across the room stood Link, arm extending in completing his throw, Red XIII and Yuffie running up from behind. Link's face was one of pain, of anger, of remembrance as he looked upon Sephiroth.

No, he wasn't looking at Sephiroth – Link's furious gaze was cast slightly above him, into the shadows behind...

"_JENOVA!"_

_-S-_

A/N: Well... 2 months, eh? How many of you lost faith in me, hmm, hmm? Be honest. Well, **Shadow Rave** and **The Spinning Omnislash**, at least I know you two were stalwart until the end. Thanks for your proverbial kicks in the behind. I needed that.

Now, I do have a good explanation for the untimely delay. Research Paper. A very scary research paper on India and Pakistan and the further proliferation of nuclear weapons, with deep consideration of the Pressler Act, the Kashmir Conflict and the Kargil War, plus extensive research on the CIRUS reactor, European Union backdrop with US and Chinese power in the background. Naturally that scared me away from writing, because I just hate research.

Don't believe me? Well, you don't have to. After all, given rather recent developments, my research paper's now a bit dated and now obsolete. Ugh. 10 weeks of torture... now it's not even worth anything anymore. Bah. Life.

Well, I have learnt that I cannot keep my promises of a fast update, so I won't give one. I will still try – that I can promise. In case I stray too far for your liking, another proverbial butt-kick will knock me back in gear.

Thanks to all those who read this far, and more thanks to all those who waited. I know, this chapter's kind of a delayer to buy me a bit more time to deal with the Aeris problem, but... It's tricky, and I still need to find a satisfactory solution. Please point out any glaring errors in this chapter, and if you can't find any, please review anyway. I love fan love.

Now, Rome: Total War! Barbarian Invasion! Fear my hordes, fools!


	15. Chapter 14

A/N: Whoo... I finally figured out what I wanted done with Aeris. I'm sure many of you wouldn't have seen this coming... Anyway, recently watched Advent Children. It feels a bit rushed, you know? Like the time limit was really a limitation... prevented further development. But motorbike fights are cool.

Note: by recent, I meant 2 months ago. It only took me 2 weeks to formulate the idea, but 6 months to write it... my deepest apologies.

Anyway, get ready for one super-sized battle, complete with psychological drama... if done well. If not, imagine them all fighting on motorbikes for the extra action.

And apologies for the longer than intended delay. I'll leave the explanations until you've finished reading the chapter.

Chapter 14:

_Emptiness.__ The world was empty, a blank void filled with nothing. The stars were distant – mere pinpricks of non-existence, for light was just an illusion. _

_It was painful, this disassociation with reality. Link could not see, he could not hear, he could not feel. Pain existed in a metaphoric sense, for the fires that flowed through his veins echoed with the blackness of a vortex, hurting only because of the lack of any other feeling. _

_Something pulled, stretched, twisted and snapped – was it his heart, ripping under the weight of disease? His muscles, giving into the strain? Or was it his mind, lost unto the world? _

_World?__ Link might have laughed; he could not hear himself. There was no world, no thoughts, no truths, no realities but the hole of oblivion. _

_Maybe he was dead. His chest did not rise, his eyelids did not flicker, his heart did not beat. Was he cold? _

_Maybe._

_Was he alone? _

_Saria... _

_And pain – true pain, different from the emptiness that ached – lanced across his mind, writhing as snakes that ate his flesh, burning, biting... existing. He wanted to scream, and realised that he couldn't... _

_Breathe... He couldn't breathe... _

_And his eyes flared open; back arched, his silent chokes, mockeries of true screams, continued as he clawed the ground, legs thrashing wildly as his intestines burned with fire. Link dimly heard someone call to him, and felt small hands attempt to pin his arms down, but his focus was on the pain, a growing glut in his abdomen that pushed and pressed and scraped as it expanded. _

_Saria was doing something; beneath the sounds of his flesh tearing and skin stretching was the accompaniment of her healing magic, pitiful in the emptiness of space. Traces of green flowed from her fingertips and across his skin, but they faded too easily, too soon. _

_His scrabbles weakened. His head, bent forward from spasms in his neck muscles, tilted back. The nature magic stopped and Saria flung her small frame onto his chest, clutching his shirt tightly, her head against his. _

_"Serei, nes pas se'leruin, serei..." /Please, don't leave me alone, please.../ Saria sobbed, the scent of her tears mixing with the sweat of his hair, "Serei... Se ist ritoste, ne pas se'leruin... " /Please... I'm afraid, don't leave me alone.../ _

_The pain was building up, but no longer in his abdomen. His chest muscles were constricting, grinding and meshing with his ribs, twisting, tightening... _

_"Airsile, Link. Serei, airsile." /Breathe, Link. Please, breathe./ A plea. She cupped his jaw line, pressing her forehead on top of his, seeing straight into his fading eyes. He could see into hers. _

_Something snapped, a lance running through his lungs. His body started its violent seizures. _

_Link screamed. _

_Synthesised air poured into his lungs, and he continued screaming. _

_The pain did not stop. His body kept shaking. _

_But he was still alive. _

_-S- _

Link did not see how Cloud pulled Aeris' stunned form away. He did not see Sephiroth's irritated expression when he leaped for his kikuichimonji, using Sephiroth's sword as a stepping stone to yank free his blade. He did not see the others pour in from the entrances, readying their weapons and already shooting in some cases.

Link saw beauty in its perfect ugliness. Link saw his dreams die within his nightmares.

Link only heard faint whispers of the world; the continuous flow of water, the promises of flying steel, the panic within the voices.

"... not now! We can't deal with him now!..."

The water was flowing, trickling as it found ways past smoothened stone and thrashing feet.

"... shut up! Get Aeris away, then fight!..."

The faint tears of air parting to steel; the chimes of weaponry clashing and flying.

"... Ta hell tha' we're ready! We've got no time now..."

A staccato of shots: loosened stone fell from the ceiling, crumbles dipping into the water. Their ripples went unnoticed.

"... fall back to Cloud..."

"... fight with all..."

"... protect her..."

Link mainly heard one voice.

_"Those who feast on death can never die."_

A snarl. A laugh. His arm was steel. Her blood was magic. His reply was hate.

"You are already dead, Jenova. I will make sure you stay dead."

A laugh. A smirk. Her form was silver in a frame of blue. Size was all relative: Link had seen her bloated form before, bulging and distended from the souls she drank. She was still larger than him, but she was only at a fraction of herself.

_"Then let us dance, Link dearest. Dance in this waltz of blue."_

The water kept flowing. Only he could hear her voice, and only she heard his reply.

Let's dance.

_-S-_

She was not sure when Cloud had arrived, nor when Sephiroth himself did. There were too many emotions in the air, panic, fear, desperation, and too little thought to accompany them.

Aeris instinctively crouched when she saw the golden flickers around Cid's spear, letting the lightning magic arch past her form to strike Sephiroth. There was no time to look disappointed when a gloved fist slapped aside the bolt, waving it into non-existence, for his attention returned back to her.

The White Materia was still clasped safely in her hands. She could still try the spell again.

A shrill screech erupted between Sephiroth's blade and a barrier inches from her skin – courtesy of Tifa, probably – and with a certain horror she watched the magic twist and buckle, warping underneath the pressure of the sword. Someone had attempted another lightning attack at Sephiroth, but it looked like his trench coat was defence enough to dispel any magic thrown his way.

The barrier exploded, hurling her backwards – but safely away from the edge of his sword. Someone had grabbed her while she drifted through midair – Cloud? – arresting her motion into the blue beneath. A staccato of shots flared above her, gold gleaming in a haze of red.

Disoriented, Aeris noted how Vincent's shots were being lazily deflected. Red XIII had managed to launch his himself at Sephiroth's back, but a gauntlet to the neck and an irritated flick of the wrist threw him away.

Power, true and unspoiled. Power, indiscriminate and lethal. In the midst of a maelstrom of fire and water, Sephiroth walked graced with power. A strength so overwhelming it consumed breath and blood, negating motion and thought with its presence.

Aeris could feel its grasp on her neck, in her heart, up her abdomen. She could have screamed. Instead, clutching the White Materia tightly in the hand wrapped over Cloud's shoulder, she drew upon her well of power, watching the fire ignite and curdle in the palm of her other hand.

Cloud's feet touched marble. Red XIII skipped back as a well of fire erupted underneath Sephiroth, temporarily obscuring him from view.

Yuffie's pained cry when a sword raked across the shielding millimetres from her neck told Aeris that she missed.

_-S-_

Link triangulated off a pillar, noting the beam of frigid water drill through the marble he just leapt off. Frost was seeping through his sword, biting his fingers and climbing up his wrist.

He didn't care. With an angry snarl he kicked off the falling pillar, thrusting his sword deep into Jenova's appendage. The frost crept higher, icy wind baling through the cut. Twisting his sword, Link propelled himself back to the ground, coughing out the chill that poisoned his lungs.

_"You've grown soft, Link dearest. Have you forgotten how to fight?"_

"Shut up," he snarled, stumbling slightly as he hacked out the frozen air. "Shut up and die." The pool rippled, its previous tranquillity broken by the magic bubbling beneath. Link twisted into his spinning slash, letting the magic bleeding free from the blade act as a shield against the frothing water crashing against him.

This wasn't the first time he used this attack as a defence, Link reflected, but the first time involved waves of soldiers, not water.

_"Still a warrior, are you? Tell me, can you still indiscriminately? You've slaughtered children before. Can you still do so, again?"_

Shut up, shut up! Without slowing down Link broke free from his defensive spin, arcing his sword to cut a gap through the torrent of water. His limbs screamed in the symphony of frost and steam, but unheeding he slipped between the curtains of scalding water. He had to bite back a scream at Jenova's laughter.

_"Do you remember the first child you killed, Link? The very first piece of innocence you tore free from the earth?"_

Laughter, screams, there was no definition. Her laughter was the sonorous gutters of a thousand, the shaky madness of people with a destined death. It bred through defilement of the corpse, and festered within the darkness of the mind.

And it was spoken, laughed, to you, at you, in you, through you. Her laughter was your screams.

Link snarled past the scream and kicked off the ground, avoiding the water that bubbled through the cracks in the marble.

_"Can you remember her face, Link? Can you remember when you met her, and how you killed her?"_

Lightning cracked near him, followed by a large jet of fire. Twisting in the air Link propelled himself off the giant shuriken that flew by, deflecting its course as he neared Jenova.

_"Because, dear Link, that child was me."_

And with a laugh, Jenova faded in a wave of blue, leaving Link company with the expansion of frost and magic.

_-S-_

"Pin the bastard down!" Barret had said, and it was taking every bit of effort from everyone's part to do so. Cait Sith had fallen back as a healer to relieve the strain on Tifa, but reducing their effective firepower.

Not that any of their attacks were effective in the first place. Aeris watched Cloud roll aside as a flick of Sephiroth's sword deflected a jet of fire back to its caster.

Sephiroth glanced her way, and she immediately stopped her preparations for a fire attack in favour of a magical guard. Fire? Lightning?Ice? Earth? If she could predict what he was going to use, she could better defend herself.

The moment she erected the protective barrier it started sparking, ethereal white fires biting its way through the hasty defence. She stumbled back just in time to avoid the brunt of the non-elemental attack, her barrier shattered by the blast.

What type of magic was this?

Barret had bought her a few seconds respite with his spray of bullets, but he had to drop his attack and dive out of the way when a following spray, but this one of boiling water, spattered the ground with its snake hisses of one who missed its prey.

Tifa was calling out to her, but the words were drowned underneath the ocean of distance. Her frantic waving suggested that Tifa wanted Aeris to run over and take cover, but the stretch of glistening marble and rippling water was too long, longer so with the presence of Sephiroth.

"There is no running, Child of the Ancients."

Too long; far too long. Then there was a stab of pain – or was it fear? – for Sephiroth stood before her.

_-S-_

_"You enjoy this hunt, don't you, dear Link?"_ Whispers crooned from the shadows and the waters. Link stilled for a moment, sniffed the air and back flipped away from a surge of water. Eyes trained on the direction he came from the instant his feet touched marble he vaulted towards it, his sword a silver viper that bit at the following jet of steam.

The stink was strong, but the presence had already moved. Snatching glances at the reflective pillars, he crouched to touch the water.

Shimmering, cool, soft, yet deceptive. He snatched his hand back before it got trapped in the ice that formed. Her taint was near.

_"Does it not remind you of our childlike days, dear Link? Hide and seek? You were always poor at that game."_ Link let the Lifestream swell within him and reengaged his spinning slash, the pale green wisps of his magic blurring in a shield against the torrent of water.

Some trickled in from below and ensnared his feet. Magic cracking the air, his defence fell and he slipped.

"This and the past have nothing in common," Link growled out before the water submerged him, needles that were threading past his eyelids, into his ears, scarring his nostrils and flooding his mouth. He could feel the change in temperature: cool was an illusion, a façade for the frothing fury behind. The water snaked into his lungs and gut; Jenova was trying to boil him from the inside.

A thunder of white cracked the surface, reducing the water to trails of vapour. Link ignored the burns that settled upon his skin. Pulling upon the Lifestream again, he fortified his cells with their magic, a clawed hand reaching out to touch the heavy whiteness, letting the ethereal fire swirl between his fingertips and merge into his magic.

_"Ultima,"_ the Lifestream murmured in recognition but Link wasn't listening. He drew it into him, blinding himself with its colour, and pulled it through his veins to his heart where he could truly feel it.

The magic stretched and twisted within its fleshed prison, twirling and boiling within his cells. With a yell – more gargle than a roar – Link felt the magic, and let it break free.

There was no pain this time. The water vanished among the clouds of white and blue, green arcing between pillars in an attempt to earth the charge filling the air. The water in his lungs had disappeared, leaving him drained and weak. Rolling away, he lurched behind a pillar, closing his eyes to stop the dance of white lightning amidst reflective blue.

_"Bravo, Link, Bravo. But our past and our present are so closely related, we live in both at the same time."_ Link was still heaving and gave no reply; her stink was strong, but she was keeping her distance.

Afraid? Was Jenova afraid?

_"You always imagined this monster born within that frame of oblivion, the emptiness that surrounded us and cut our soul. You were wrong: this creature festered in Hyrule, and in your neglect feasted upon kindness and swelled upon hatred. Disease was merely the catalyst: your disregard for your friend Saria was the cause." _

The Lifestream guttered and choked and he released it, letting the warmth of green return back to the earth. Link could now feel the frost on his cheeks, the dew that soaked his clothes and hair, the cold of his breath.

He could also feel the fire than burned within his soul.

"You lie," he coughed, white knuckles around his sword, "I loved Saria. She died because of you, Jenova. And I will kill you for her."

_-S-_

The echo of Sephiroth's non-elemental attack took them both by surprise – he certainly wasn't expecting to be struck by his own spell. This time she didn't have a barrier to protect her, and watching the growing white hiss against Sephiroth's black trench coat Aeris braced herself for the pain.

The pain did not come, but a bubbling within the Lifestream did instead.

_"Flee, my Daughter. We cannot hold him for long. Flee."_

The voice warmed her, nurtured her and cleansed her. As opposed to streaks of red flecking Sephiroth's skin, the magic healed her, subtly repairing unnoticed wounds, gently mending the larger ones.

The white ended, and although bloodied most of Sephiroth's wounds were superficial. Free from ache Aeris heeded their warning and ran.

Lightning rained from above, but none struck Aeris – someone had summoned Ramuh and called for his help, letting him wrestle the bolts free from the air and fling them back at will. She knew it was a futile gesture, but as she run she drew upon her fire Materia, letting its magic course through her palm before releasing it in a covering stream.

Had she looked when she released that attack, she would have realised it a waste of magic: Sephiroth had ignored her for a moment, choosing to bring battle closer to the ancient summon. With a disdainful flick of the sword he drove the blade up the Summon's abdomen so that the tip stuck out from beneath the neck.

Ramuh's head seemed to shake in disappointment before he disappeared, flecks of gold and white etching past his skin as he faded from existence.

When Aeris did turn around, Sephiroth was flicking aside the spells Cait Sith and Yuffie were casting. His motion was halted when Shiva shielded the world from him in a cage of ice, drawing upon the waters to reinforce the growing walls.

"Bloody 'Ell what does it take to kill this guy?" Barret dropped the Summon Materia wearily, exhausted from trying two summons one after the other. His frown deepened when cracks appeared on the frozen cage, edges of red and gold slicing the prison.

"Only that white spell managed to even hurt him," Cloud muttered, dropping from his perch above next to Aeris and holding her shoulder protectively, "and the only one we're sure that can cast it is Sephiroth."

"As much as I like planning," Yuffie nodded to Shiva's direction, "she doesn't look like she can hold him for long. None of us saw what bounced that attack back, but can we guess that if Sephiroth does it again, whatever it is will reflect it?"

Cid snorted. "Tha' best plan we 'ave involves bein' shot at?" As the ice cage fractured he sighed and spun his spear in preparation. "Ah, who cares. Ah'm game."

_-S-_

_"I lie, dear Link? How long do you plan on living your deception?"_

The shadows stirred, and Jenova appeared once again. Link catapulted himself off a pillar to reach it, sword angled into a twirling fang. Blade crashed against water, a thin sheet pulled up in defence. A spray of shards caught him off guard, the ice crystals biting past cloth to saw into his skin. With a yelp he fell, crashing into the waters beneath.

_"Oh, dear Link, you are weak. You die too easily."_ The waters surged, constricting his body as it flailed against the marble stone. He grit his teeth as he was flung like a rag doll, the water pressure pinning him against the pillar before letting him fall back down.

"I can't die yet," Link coughed, stumbling to his feet to call upon his spinning defence, "I have a duty to do. I can't die until I've killed you."

Jenova laughed, a wave of klaxons, taking to the air as an apparition of fog and blue. Snow flaked around him, frigid gales reminding him of the injuries he's taken. Her form fading behind the curtain of white, Link sniffed the air before leaping forward.

_"Me, die? Another delusion of yours. Those who feast on death cannot die."_

Link chuckled. "Well, there's always time for discovery, isn't there?" His sword sprayed marble into the air – missed again – and pedalling off the shattered pillar he arced in the mist, avoiding the blades of water beneath.

Disturbed by the motions, the mist thinned for a moment. Link frowned: there were two blue forms flying through the air, both wielding water and frost magic.

Did Jenova somehow clone herself while he couldn't see?

_"Discovery, dear Link? Isn't that what brought us to this sorry state, away from home? Your thirst for discovery? You loved your own grandeur more than you loved Saria."_

One of the forms was continually blasting magic at a specific spot, whilst the other waltzed around, the waters trailing its passage as it neared the first one. But then the mist thickened once more, and the snow that drifted constantly weighted his senses.

Link's frown deepened when the moisture through his sandals alerted him that he had landed in water. Almost immediately he could hear the roar of rising crystal turrets, icy structures that erupted around him, merging into a sealed bubble before crashing upon him. He drew upon the Lifestream again, pulling upon its whispers to fuel his spinning slash, waves of blinding white pounding off his blade.

Link dimly noted that his trademark attack wasn't releasing its usual green flash, but the pressure of the collapsing waters held that thought at bay. He could feel the water get denser, cooler, and all of a sudden lighter and boiling. Heavy and tiring, light and insidious. Cold and draining, hot and scarring.

Link noted Jenova's methods of attack hadn't changed the past centuries. A battle of two extremes, the target crushed between the wrestle of two giants.

Then the pressure lifted, her stink caught, and he bounded off in hunt.

"You've loved only power. Don't question me on what you don't know." Jenova was taunting him, letting the wrath of her form merge from the fog before hiding again. Link trailed on my scent, triangulating off pillars to avoid her water attacks.

_"Oh, I know power. And I know what you held for Saria was dependence, a lack of strength, not love. You were weak in ways that only she could make strong – that was not love. That was dependence." _

He flied through a panel of ice, plunging past the surface and into the depths of his hatred. "That was what you feared, Jenova. Weakness in all its forms. You're a monster birthed from fear and madness."

_"Do I fear, when nothing is wrong with me?"_

"Look at you! A bloated carcass of magic, a mere shadow of your previous existence!"

The waters screamed in retaliation, and Link was not sure whether the distant shadows were pillars of marble or ice. He kicked off one pillar, and his blood recoiled in pain – ice.

_"True, I give you that. I bore a glory no others surpassed. But I will retake that glory. I cannot die."_

Link laughed, high, shrill, scornful. "Do you not see what you are? A puppet! When the Angel's Child doesn't need you, you will die!"

_"Dear Link, you do not understand. Sephiroth is my blood and son! He is I, and his glory is mine! But that is in the future. Can you stop me now?"_

The form of blue became visible. And drawing upon the Lifestream again, he let the whispers smother his ears, white flaring around his body and drinking in his sword. There was a moment of green, a clarity of purpose.

And blue shattered.

_-S-_

Sephiroth looked as if Shiva was a pest, but did not move to incapacitate her assaults. Cloud had decided to cast aside magic and engage in close quarter combat, and Aeris watched in certain trepidation, losing.

Sephiroth was too fast and agile; Cloud's swings were clumsy and inaccurate against him. Sephiroth was too strong; he had only swung once with his sword so far, but Cloud's Buster Sword had buckled under the force as he was hurtled back. And Sephiroth was too skilled; what Cloud thought of, Sephiroth thought of before.

The ice struck from above, yet were deflected by Sephiroth's cloak. The mist was thickening; Aeris couldn't see the fighting clearly...

Shiva had managed to lock Sephiroth's arms in ice. Seizing the moment, Cloud lurched to thrust his Buster Sword in Sephiroth's gut, in reflection of what happened to Ramuh...

... But the ice shattered. A scream from above – Shiva saw a gleaming blade approach, and motioned her focus for her defence.

The moment was lost. Sephiroth kicked aside Cloud's attack, back fisting Cloud's jaw. It looked like he contemplated killing Cloud whilst he was stunned, but chose to observe the scene above.

Her shielding did no good: white imbued the sword, arcs surging off like sharks eager for the first bite, devouring the magic that protected Shiva. And then the blade struck, Ultima acid to the magic, eating its way through as steel pierced through magic and flesh.

Aeris could not recognise the spell; a bar of white had erupted upon contact, a pillar that divided the world with Shiva caught between both. Sephiroth hissed and stepped back as the magic seared his arm, but was too amused to do anything else.

Aeris could identify the caster: Link. White bleeding away from his form, she could see the primal hatred in his eyes, in the contortion of his lips. Falling through the motes of magic that signified Shiva's return to her realm, he spared only a moment to touch the earth before he was airborne again, steel humming with unrepressed hunger to kill.

"And I am the greatest threat, Child of the Ancients?" Sephiroth was before her, injured arm still holding is sword firmly. "The greatest danger came from a land distant in space and time, and you know it well."

_-S-_

_"A puppet, dear Link?__ If anyone else dances to the marionette's strings, it is you!"_

The mist had faded; Jenova had no need for it anymore. Laughingly they departed, the white swirling in his eyes as a reminder of the spell he envoked.

"I'm beginning to think you afraid, Jenova," Link snarled, "for you're certainly keeping your distance."

_"Oh, I know my strengths, and I know your weaknesses. You can't fight unless you're up close, can you, dear Link? You always needed to see the face of the man you killed, needed to feel his blood, didn't you?"_

The water attacks had stopped. The world only consisted of Jenova and Link, two opponents in a blaze of grey and blue. There was neither water nor marble in this world of their hunt, just the opponent and the single drive.

"To kill was to survive. I only did what I needed to do. You killed out of greed."

_"You bathed in the blood of soldiers because it was necessary. I drank the blood of citizens to grow strong. That was not greed, dear Link, that was survival as well. So we are one and the same, monsters of our own creation."_

"We are not the same! You kill without hesitation, without remorse or regret!"

_"And are you different? Have you seen your face in the thick of battle? Even now the thirst for blood is evident in your eyes, this mad zeal in the name of the Harbinger of Death. For you knew hesitation was a weakness, and weakness meant death. Now I cannot die." _

"Saria was the first victim of your predations. I will ensure that you die for that."

_"Oh, my poor dear Link!__ Have you still refused to accept it? Jenova is Saria! I am Saria!"_

"You are _not_ Saria!"

The distance closed. Steel flared with magic crashed against the hide of blue, steam and frost biting free at the raw blade, corrupting and distorting. Jenova flew off, injured, but Link hunted on, weaker.

_"Am I not Saria? Do we not share the same history, recognise the same people and believe in the same concepts?" _

"Saria believed in sanctity; you believe in murder. When you, Jenova, struck Saria as disease, you merely possessed her form – her soul died a long time ago. You are not Saria."

_"What struck Saria was realisation, dear Link, not disease. It was the realisation that only the strong can survive in this world, and there is no place for the weak, the dependent, the frail, the crippled, the foolish nor the ignorant. And strength will only come by consuming the strength of others, adding to my knowledge, feeding my powers. You would make a fine meal, dear Link." _

Jenova approached this time, expanding in this world of grey. Her stench consumed Link's sight, his senses blinded by her gaze and thirst. White and green marked the air, testament of his blind lashes; red and iron dribbled across his limbs, mark of her teeth.

_"You knew the weakness of disease, did you not? When Oblivion settled upon you, you fought it and the overwhelming despair it brought. You challenged death in battle, but you left scathed, broken, and incapable of casting magic. Saria challenged death as well, but she did not fight it: she embraced it and the emptiness, and learnt that only the master of Death cannot die. I grew strong on the feast of flesh and magic, whilst you grew dependent on the Cetra and their toys."_

The amulet burned a hot red, and roaring Link skipped the boiling fog, breaking close for his clash. Steel hawed through magic, frost consumed flesh; they parted again, the air scented with decay and iron once more.

"You are nothing more than a monster and a disease. Furthermore, you are weak: you cannot leave this Planet, can you?"

_"I will admit that our previous encounter inflicted more damage to my person that I expected. But your trinket makers the Cetra are all gone, eaten by me or my disease that followed. And if I am a monster, aren't you? We are both hunters, predators that scour the universe. For all the lives I've taken, you've taken more."_

"I don't plan on leaving this Planet alive, no. I have my duty to do; I will destroy you, Jenova, monster of my creation, and then I will surrender to death. But only when you are destroyed."

_"Still taken the responsibility of my existence, dear Link? Shouldn't you, beast who tricked Saria away from Hyrule, creature who let her see her fairy die? But that is irrelevant now; you cannot kill me. Enough with the petty attacks: shall I devour you now, and drink your power as my own?" _

Magic screamed in his veins, the Lifestream rippled and throbbed as it wrapped his thoughts and words.

"Let's dance."

_"Aqualung!"_

Grey twisted and receded, but blue grew and mutated, an ocean of thirst trapping Link within a final bubble of magical sanity. The pressure grew as the water fuelled the spell, rushing torrents that seared as encroaching blades hungering to saw and hack and hew.

And the bubble collapsed; water screamed for his blood, a million knives drilling past magic and air.

Link saw the hazy form of Jenova behind the curtain of water. The Lifestream coiled and snapped: white built in his heart and his sword, a burning fury that stretched from his mind to his soul and arm. Magic flooded his being as he swung his retaliatory stroke, finally giving word to the whispers of the lifestream.

"Ultima!"

Blue crushed mortality.

White lanced sin.

Reality flooded the mind, and the world was composed of marble and water once more.

_-S-_

It was perhaps the first time Aeris thought Sephiroth a being capable of feeling pain. White washed the scene, but where it bypassed everyone else it attacked Sephiroth, biting through skin in its rush to expand.

She could see slivers of water – imitations of daggers snaking free of the pool beneath – hiss out in hunt for flesh, but they evaporated within the white fire too. Everyone had instinctually shielded their faces, but Sephiroth, a being unused to the concept of damage, let the light scour for his flesh, blinking away the blood from his eyes as he hunted for the source.

Aeris couldn't explain why, but as she too followed his gaze towards the area the attack came from, a feeling of desperation and fear flooded her heart, a twisting sensation that made her grip her staff and White Materia even tighter. Seeing Sephiroth extend a clawed hand, she didn't know why she was moving – to protect, to run away – but she ran.

_-S-_

The amulet skimmed the waters in its pendulum motion, cord stretched against the neck it swayed on. Link's hair wafted with the waters, his forehead close to grazing the waters that lapped around him. Broken against the marble in his fall, his crumpled body lay straggled against the white steps, sword arm submerged and a blank gaze observing the blood that dropped into the waters, the slow drip of red merging into a stream within his blurring sight...

"You haven't been eating right, Link. How do you take care of yourself without me?"

And his vision collected itself, focussing on the form lying just inches away from him:

"Saria..."

Gone was the bloated blue of Jenova, and in its stead was the fragile form of his past friend, still dressed in green. A light lattice of green lines crisscrossed her skin and clothes, but her eyes were more interested in the sword impaling her through the abdomen.

Shaking her head with a light chuckle she turned to face Link, letting blue eyes meet blue.

"Hello, Link. It's nice to know that you've kept you fighting edge."

Trembling, from injury or disbelief Link didn't know, he raised a hand to caress her cheek, but flinched back as the green lines deepened, minute cracks that widened on contact. Still, touch was real, Saria was real.

"Why..? How..?"

She laughed lightly again, wincing when Link's sword won't let her wriggle closer, and brushed the blonde hair away from his eyes, ignoring the deepening fissures on her fingers. "The Kokiri were meant to live forever, although perhaps not like this. A small piece of me still lives within Jenova, a voice telling her to stop hurting others, to stop killing, to just pass on like the rest of the life forms. I haven't been very successful."

"Saria-"

"Whatever she said, Jenova was lying, Link. I don't blame you for what happened, and you shouldn't either. We were undergoing a spell of pretty rotten luck, eh?" She shook her head, closing her eyes in reminiscence. "Well, you've found a few new friends; hopefully our luck is turning around."

"I don't-"

"Defeat Jenova, Link. End her existence of torment and fear; defeat Jenova, and free me." She watched the water trickle through his hair before continuing. "Jenova was lying, I never wanted to kill, never wanted to see people suffer, least of all you. This world deserves a chance of happiness, something Jenova will take away. Enough people have suffered and I don't want to see anymore of it. Can I ask this of you, Link?"

He was quiet for a moment, taking the time to watch her eyes, observe how her hair shifted with the air, and look at her fingers clasped in prayer. "Can you remember those times with Navi and Shael? The fairies always liked to support your side of things, even Navi who was my partner. We used to trek around Hyrule when it was there for us to walk, and still even after being flung into space we laughed together, cried together, were together.

"Jenova was the disease that ripped us apart. Jenova took Shael and then Navi, took away my magic and robbed me of the ability to properly take care of you. Its plague had spread and affected entire civilisations, taking brothers from brothers, wives from husbands, children from parents. If Jenova spreads on anything, it is grief, not human flesh.

"You say I shouldn't blame myself, yet when I think back, I see of the circumstances that gave birth to Jenova, and I see myself the cause of it. Navi shouldn't have died. Shael shouldn't have died. We should have still been in Hyrule, happy and truly alive, away from the need for death and murder just to survive, in lands where we were valued as friends rather than tools of war. You need not ask, Saria. I started this mess; I will end it. This is my duty."

Saria remained silent for a moment before smiling. "The hero's duty, Link? Brave and honourable, but a bit longwinded. Thank you though, Link. I want to go home and see Shael and Navi again. I want to see the Kokiri Forest and all our friends there. I want to talk to the Great Deku Tree once more and play with the fairies. I want to be free." She took a shuddering breath before continuing. "Jenova has been divided up into parts, each of them containing their own consciences. Trapped as I am I can't tell you where they are, but sometimes I see glimpses of their surroundings through them or the people they influence. Jenova is planning something, a final feast of magic. I can't tell how, but she means to hurt–" a scream of pain and flash of green interrupted her words. Her body buckled and writhed as the cracks deepened. Screams tearing her apart, Saria cast one frightened, warning gaze to Link before her body dissolved into a waft of motes, leaving only his sword implanted in the marble.

Eyes widening in shock he raised a shaky hand to grasp the green dust, but they had fled their previous position, flaring a shock green before drifting towards the hand that summoned them. Struggling with his wounds he turned around, watching the green haze float around the gloved hand of Sephiroth.

"The remaining Cetra died of a disease that first crippled their magic before taking their lives. Apt that it will be this very disease that claims you, Child of the Ancients."

And in a flash they encircled Aeris, sinking through the pores of her skin as they passed the disease they carried into her body. She had no time to scream before she was on the ground, convulsing as they seeped into her bloodstream and nervous system.

Snarling in contempt Sephiroth stamped on her hand, forcing her to release the White Materia before taking it.

"I have reason to believe that this way of dying is cruel in its brevity. None have survived it unscathed – your bedraggled friend over there is proof enough." With a sneering glance at those who rushed towards her and the shadowy wave of his cloak Sephiroth disappeared.

And the stench of Jenova struck Link once more, the decay of its progress and fragility of its victims. Weakly gripping the stone he tried to pull himself towards Aeris, but coupled with the assault of Jenova's renewed presence it aggravated his wounds.

"Fire... cleanse her with fire..." Collapsing back onto the stone Link managed to utter those words before passing out.

_"I never wanted to kill..." _

_"This is my duty..." _

_"I want to go home..." _

_-S-_

A/N: Ho kay... so... chapter completed. Yeah, go me. I tried to place a psychological edge to this chapter, but I don't think I did that so well. When there's too much actual action, there's not a lot of psychological flair to be added, hence the large blurbs of speech near the end. I think I kind of lost it as I finished though. Oh well.

So, an explanation to why this chapter is so heavily delayed: now that I think about it, there is no suitable one. They can all be summarised by one word: school. I'll leave it up to you to interpret what that means, but as a hint think of the IB program and that should steer you to the whys and wherefores.

I kind of find this chapter to be part fulfilling, part disappointing – yet I don't know why. As always, reviews – constructive, acknowledging or anything in between – will be gladly appreciated. I hope that this chapter managed to inspire a bit more patience with this story, because from here on I go off at a tangent from the FF7 plot and drive my own course, occasionally flitting back in line to only veer into the dark and unexplored.

I'm not writing a novelisation, after all. But I hope you guys liked what's been written so far, and will be willing to test your patience a little longer to see what I have in store.


	16. Chapter 15

A/N: Hmm. Well, I'd like to say there's a reason for this delay, but you've already heard it. So on with the story.

Chapter 15:

_For days – weeks, months?_ – _Link did not speak. The disease had weakened its grasp over his lungs, receded beyond his heart and freed his mind from the haze and nightmares that accompanied it. Unable to move yet, Link would just stare at his palms, silently._

_Saria_ _took it in stride. She would try to cheer Link up, chatting about the new Planet she found, how they should be able to reach there just in time for his limbs to get better. Even this far away, she claimed, she could feel the natural harmony within the Planet, and with such a healthy flow of Forest magic it should become a simple matter to pinpoint the direction of home._

_Link was too busy concentrating on his palms to listen to her talk about food or a real bed or anything she said to keep his spirits up. There was a tingling numbness in his arms and legs, an electric paralysis that pinned him._

_Link was not worried about that; the warmth of actual sensation slowly crept outwards, and he was certain that at some point full control will return. Yet beneath the nerves lay a deeper emptiness, a hollowness that echoed not just throughout his arms and legs but beneath each vein and artery, running across his entire body with a light drift where there should have been solid substance._

_Saria_ _made sure his blood didn't clot by rolling him, manually lifting his arms and kicking his legs to keep the circulation going. Whenever she had magic spare from her efforts to tug the two towards this Planet she idealised as the way home she would conjure a pillow and mattress for him. Most of the time, exhausted from her efforts she would lie on top of him, joke about how she might as well help bathe him because he stinks but rest with his warmth as her comfort, and her presence as his warmth._

_It was selfish, Link knew, how he ignored her efforts to focus in on himself. He should have said thank you, but his throat was dry from the lack of use. He should have wondered why she was tiring so easily, but all thought processes went to figuring out the emptiness that resonated with his heartbeats. He should have noticed the fatigue etching itself onto her face, or the sad glances when he didn't answer – never tried to answer – her questions, but he kept his head bowed, eyes intent on his hands._

_He should have heard her occasional coughs and the weakness of her voice. He should have felt her shivers and cold hands. He should have smelt the sweat and weariness and unnatural incense of disease wrapped around her. He should have known of the erratic jolts in her magic, the uncontrolled pulses that were too strong sometimes, overly weak the rest of the time._

_No, he couldn't have known that. For then he understood._

"_Se'y faeriah," /My magic,/ he cried out, throat aching from the words, "Se lestuire se'y faeriah." /I've lost my magic./_

_And it was then, voice speaking, mind clearing, eyes open, ears listening, body feeling and nose smelling did he understand._

_The disease had left him…_

… _for Saria._

_And by the time he started whispering to her, talking of home and of food and shelter, she was silent. And with the emptiness that ached with his every breath, Link understood…_

… _he didn't have the magic needed to save Saria._

_-S-_

Link awoke to screams. Not his screams, no; he was past the point of fearing pain and had already accepted the veil of death behind it – the shrill screams of someone younger and less experienced, but still someone who felt the pain and saw death.

Groaning, he lifted himself off the marble, gasping silently as minute wounds etching his body registered after the battle-rush. Water trickled down from his hair, temporarily obscuring his view.

Water… Jenova… Sephiroth…

… Aeris!

The others were already there, trying to their best to soothe the screams. Their best was nothing against the disease: Link could see the faint white glow of cure magic flow past their fingers and mould onto her form, only to fuzz out and break off like shattered glass.

"We gotta bring 'er back to Bone Village! Can't do nuthin' 'ere!"

"Think, ya goddamn fool! Ya think she can survive the eight bloody hours trek ta get back?"

"Well, what the hell else can we do, Cid? None of our healing magic is even working!"

Everyone was shouting. In panic, or maybe just to be heard above Aeris' screams. Yuffie returned from the shouting match with Cid and Barret to help Tifa hold Aeris down, pinning down her arms and legs so that she wouldn't hurt herself in her wild thrashes.

Link staggered over. His sword scratched against the stone as he rested his weight on it like a crutch. "Not healing magic," he coughed, frowning at the bloody still leaking from his injuries, "fire. You have to burn the disease out, force the fever. You have to act fast, otherwise it will consume her."

Barret stared at him for a second. "You crazy, Link? She's all sweatin' and shiverin' and you want us to make it worse?"

Cid looked like he was going to add to that, but Cloud stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Tell us what to do," he said simply.

Link nodded. "Help her get outside. All this water isn't helping."

Cloud barked out his orders. Red XIII knelt as Tifa and Yuffie helped Aeris onto his back, Cait Sith tried one last healing spell before helping the rest stabilise her. Cloud looked like he wanted to help there too, but instead walked over to help prop Link up and walk him out.

Everyone cares a lot about Aeris, Link thought, Cloud in particular. He wants to be with Aeris, watch over her while she's suffering, but he chose to help me. "Thanks," Link said.

Cloud grunted in acknowledgement. His fast pace troubled some of Link's wounds, but Link could see that it was also aggravating a few of Cloud's. Everyone was injured, but they all placed Aeris first.

Red XIII led them to the first grotto he found, a little alcove shielded from direct exposure by the weeds growing on the nearby bluff. The moon hung low, casting its light between the blades to shine a white dapple on Aeris' form.

Her screams had subsided, but that was because he throat and jaws were too tired to scream any more. Link knew of the ache that permeated her body, a pain both subtle and pronounced that leached the muscles of the energy needed to even shiver.

Link felt for the tingle of the Lifestream in the amulet and frowned. Looking at the moon, they only had a few hours left before the sun rises and the magic will abandon him. Everyone crowded around as he knelt next to Aeris.

In all his battles and wars Link experienced a number of injuries and inflammations, infections from wounds and poisons as well as diseases, but none were burned into his mind as the symptoms from Jenova's disease. High fever, ragged breathing, inert limbs, darting eyes, perhaps symptoms that could be attributed to something else. But it was the more subtle ones, the bulging veins on the throat, the spasms of clutching of the hands, the jolting of the chest as if the person was being stabbed… those were the signs of Jenova's disease.

Link remembered them well. And he saw all of them in Aeris.

Inhaling deeply, he placed both palms on top of her heart – erratic fluttering, sometimes eerily quiet, others beating in a panicking frenzy – and drew the Lifestream into himself. He withdrew his senses, muting out the encouragements they gave Aeris, listening for the echo of his magic's passage, the memory and instinct that would tell him what to do…

"You're going to be fine, Aeris, breathe deeply…"

"Hang tight, Aeris, hang tight…"

"We're here for you, don't you worry Aeris…"

Link's eyes snapped open.

"Shit."

Everyone started, looking at Link. "Tha hell d'ya mean by that?" Barret rumbled, casting a glance at Aeris – no change.

Link shook his head disbelievingly. "I've forgotten… I've forgotten how to cast fire magic."

Cid reiterated his statement. "Well, shit."

"We cast the fire magic ourselves, can't we?" Tifa asked, dropping down to clasp Aeris' palm. Her nails dug into Tifa's hand from the spasms, but Tifa didn't let go. "It doesn't matter who does the casting, does it?" She pulled out the fire Materia, but Link pressed a stopping hand on it.

Link shook his head. "Offensive magic directly applied will just burn her. She needs to absorb the magic; I know where to cast it."

Cid swore again. Cloud snatched the fire Materia and facing Link, stated simply, "No hard feelings."

Fire magic wreathing his hand, he pressed it to Link's skin, and released it as a stream directly into his chest.

Yuffie cried out, pulling Link back to roll him in the grass. "You gone crazy, Cloud? Don't kill the messenger, he can still help Aeris!"

But the others were watching, part in surprise part in disbelief, as the fires slowly extinguished themselves but not from Yuffie's effort. She stepped back, watching as the fires curled and licked at the edges of his clothes before being absorbed by his skin.

There was no time to admire the scene. Immediately Link got up and placed his palms back on Aeris' heart.

The magic started flowing, and Aeris started screaming.

_Search for my magic, Saria had muttered between her fevered nightmares, burn the disease there. Burn my magic._

_I can't, Link had replied, clutching her close, I've lost my magic. I can't._

"Please," Aeris gasped, "please… stop… hurts…"

"Hang tight Aeris, it'll be over soon," Tifa promised, clutching Aeris' palm tightly, "it'll be over and you'll be fine."

The fire glowed around Link's hand, circling like entwined snakes around his fingers before slithering into her bosom. Aeris screamed as each stream burrowed into her, torn muscles writhing to get away from this new pain, but Link held his palms in place.

Time passed, crawling, flying, but constant by the anguish that filled the air. Link knew the intense pain involved with the cleansing. Aeris' voice, usually clear with laughter, was now hoarse from screaming for an hour.

"Another burst," he commanded. Cloud paused for a second before sending another stream of fire into Link, but weaker this time.

"Hurts… worse… please…" Cait Sith tried to cast a healing spell to alleviate her pain, but Link barked at him to prevent the magic tangling.

_The disease grows best in magical beings, Saria had said, you have to burn it out. Ignore my screams, my cries for you to stop; you have to burn it out._

_I can't, Link had replied, hands shaking from the fluctuating magic, I just can't. _

Aeris' screams had reached a crescendo, and she was coughing out flecks of blood from her raw throat. Tears were streaming down other faces as well, the girls and Barret crying along with her.

Time stretched – the minutes felt like hours, the hours as eternity as the moon followed its course down the sky. The flames around his hands glowed like dying embers, colouring pulsing with the rhythm of a pendulum, orange to red, orange to red, orange to red…

This is going too slowly, Link cursed to himself. Him acting as a proxy for a foreign source of magic meant that his magic only trickled out like a dried up stream rather than the waterfall he was accustomed to. He achieved the very basics of what he needed to do, but…

The moon's shadows stretched longer as it dipped lower. "Another burst, larger."

Bracing for the next wave of fire, he gasped silently as it scorched his skin before roiling in. Internalising it and merging it with the magic borrowed from the Lifestream, he let it snake into Aeris' heart, following the arteries as suppressed lava to hunt out the illness Link tried to focus on the imaginary hisses of burning disease than on Aeris' real screams.

"I can't watch any further," Yuffie sobbed before hiding her face in Vincent's cloak. He placed his metallic arm on her shoulder in comfort – his own flesh one was gripping his forehead in a vain attempt to block out the view.

"It hurts!" Aeris bucked now, trying to escape the fire from Link's hands, "please stop, it hurts!"

"Link, are you sure you're doing the right thing?" Red XIII asked uncertainly. His ears flattened as Aeris screamed again.

_You have to hold it, Link, Saria had gasped between her screams, maintain the same level of control and target the disease. Hold it and control, burn and cleanse._

_Please, Saria, Link had said, I can't. I'm sorry, I just can't. My magic's not strong enough anymore. I can't do this. I can't take it._

"Very sure," Link answered between gritted teeth, "it is working. Slowly. Another burst, as large as you can get."

This time his scream mixed with Aeris', the clotted stains on his shirt dyed again with a fresher red as new wounds joined the reopened old. His back was a raw red, the fabric having melted to his skin before both peeled off from the fire. His hands shook, but they held their position above her heart. Breathing heavily, Link ignored the pain and returned to his work.

No use, Link's hands shook too badly for the delicate control needed, the pain was numbing the concentration for directing the flows. He glanced up, the sky on the opposite side was coloured a warm red; the moon will set soon.

The stench of Jenova wafted and roiled, wisps off her skin and sweat that reached out before fading. Vision blurry, Link could see the haze around Aeris weakening, the body's fire already purging the disease from the main systems, but there was just one more reservoir that needed to be cleansed.

His gaze drifted briefly to his palms and the magic flowing out of them.

"Please… stop…"

Withdrawing one hand to stabilise himself, Link stopped.

"Aeris, do you trust me?" His words were faint whispers between his pained gasps.

"Hurts… still hurts… please…"

"Do you trust me, Aeris?"

"Hurts… Link…" her grasp tightened painfully around Tifa's hands, but she forced herself to look at him. "Yes."

He unhooked the cord with his free hand and restrung it around her heck, making sure the amulet touched her skin. "This will draw the Lifestream closer to you so long as the moon is up. Cloud will supply the fire directly, and you have to listen to me and guide it. Can you do it?"

Her eyes widened and she breathed more sharply. "No… no, can't… hurts…"

"This is important, Aeris. Can you do it?"

Tifa was wiping Aeris' forehead with the fabric ripped off her skirt, taking away the sweat. The red stretched further in the sky as the moon receded even further.

"Hurts… please… Yes."

Nodding, Link collapsed on his back before rolling to his front, the grass burning his newly made injury. He gestured for Cloud to stand closer. "Supply the magic directly above her heart," he instructed.

Her screams started again, and Cloud's hand wanted to flinch back, but Link held it in place. "Pool the fire in your heart until it feels like its ripping, and then store it in your abdomen until you can't hold anymore. Hold it as long as you can, and then release it along your bloodstream and nervous system. Think of it as water flushing the disease from the system."

Through her convulsions Aeris nodded, her free hand clasping the amulet desperately as she tried to follow Link's words. Cloud had already withdrawn his hand, unable to fuel the pain she was in, but the Lifestream continued the work for him, releasing the load of fire magic that it had absorbed from Link.

The red stretched half the sky; only a pinprick of white signalled the moon hadn't left yet.

Smoke sizzled from her clothes, small flares escaping her control. Aeris was gasping now, clawing at her throat as if she couldn't breathe…

A beam of golden light.

Aeris screamed. Her throat rebelled, her lungs collapsing, but she screamed. She released the fire into her system.

The sun rose. The moon waned. The Lifestream's magic was banished with the loss of the moon.

Aeris collapsed back into the grass, her whole body sweating. Her hands were bleeding where it held the amulet – so were Tifa's.

But the fever had broken. She was still alive.

_-S-_

It must have been an alarming sight, a group of ten entering Bone Village with two needing to be carried and all with serious injuries. The residents appeared too shocked at first to offer any aid, but when Cloud called for a room to rest Aeris in the help flooded in, bandages and ointments left at the door as someone left to make a call for a doctor to fly in from the mainland.

Everyone's magic was exhausted, and so Link's injuries were handled with iodine and bandages as were everyone else's. His back was too raw to lie down, so resting at the inn he chose to wait sitting in the main room with everyone else.

Someone – Barret or Cid most likely – had ordered a round of alcohol as a painkiller. Everyone drank this time.

"That was some pretty tough stuff you were doing back there," Yuffie exhaled, "thanks for sticking through, Link."

"You have more mental resilience than I thought," Vincent added. No one was going to forget Aeris' screams anytime soon.

"Saria was the one who figured out how to cleanse the disease." Link bowed his head to sip his drink; this time it wasn't as powerful as the last time. "I couldn't follow her words before. I gambled on them just now."

"Well, Aeris is looking in better condition than you are," Tifa joked, "she's sleeping soundly now. I don't think she'll be waking up until tomorrow afternoon."

Link smiled lightly. "She deserves the rest. I don't think I would have been capable of fighting that pain to control the fire on myself." The amulet, even after the rushed hours as they returned through the Sleeping Forest, was still warm from the fires.

"Sephiroth," Barret grumbled, "that rat bastard. I'm gonna kill him, firs' chance I get. Firs' tryin' to spike her with his sword, then goin' and poisonin' her with that weird disease stuff."

"No one deserves to die as much as he does," Cloud agreed.

Everyone was silent for a moment. "Can Aeris still use her magic?" Cloud asked.

Link didn't reply for a while. With a finger he traced the pattern of the tree on the amulet. "She won't be able to, not on her own."

Red XIII shook his head. "Our best magic caster now incapable of casting magic. I'm thankful she's still alive though." Looking up the stairs to where Aeris was resting, he gingerly climbed them, mindful of the bandages swathing his neck and knee.

Tifa sighed. "I know it's still the afternoon, but I think we should all get some rest. The tonics will take a while to settle in." The others murmured in agreement, and one by one they filed up the stairs.

Cloud stayed behind.

"Very clever of you to realise I could absorb magic," Link nodded towards Cloud, although winced at the bandages on his back. "But I guess there's a limit to the intensity I can take in."

Cloud nodded slowly. "I want to ask you something Link," he said softly. "I only realised what was going on when you had me feed the magic directly." Looking straight at Link's eyes, he asked, "Could you have saved Aeris without burning away her magic?"

Link averted his eyes back to his beer mug. "There was no time," he replied slowly, "in the three or so hours that I handled it I only managed to cleanse around two thirds of the disease. To have done anything would have needed more moonlight."

Cloud frowned. "But could we have brought her back, and you treat her the next night? Would she have survived it?"

"Yes," Link said hesitantly, "but the more time the disease is left unattended the deeper it roots into your magic. Jenova's disease grew first in our fairies, it's specialised in poisoning magic."

"But you could have still saved her then, if we brought her back first."

"I guess… she cleansed herself this time, but she may not have had the mental strength to do so if it lasted longer. Saria could, if she had the magic to, but even immortals fall."

"So it should have been possible to save her without taking away her magic."

Link got tired of the questioning. Putting down the mug, he looked straight at Cloud eye to eye. "What do you want to ask?"

Silence for a moment. They could hear someone coughing upstairs, soft squeaks as the bartender cleaned glasses in the next room.

"You deliberately chose to destroy Aeris' magic."

This time Link held his gaze. "Yes."

"You knew of another way, one that didn't require her to sacrifice her magic."

Link paused, shook his head slowly, but still, "Yes."

"You still chose to burn her out. In the last moments, you made her burn herself out – that was the pain she was screaming at, not the disease. You had already cleansed the disease, you made Aeris cripple herself."

Link inhaled deeply, temporarily looking upstairs to where Aeris' room lay. He returned to eye contact. "Yes."

Cloud couldn't hold it anymore. "You goddamned bastard, why did you do that? Why the hell did you destroy her magic?"

"A safety precaution. Saria was the first to realise it, the disease grows where there is-"

"Lies! You're lying about that, as you were lying about the problem of time! You could have saved her without the sacrifice, and _why didn't you_!?"

"The precaution was not a lie. In case the disease lingered, I had to destroy all traces of power for it to feed on. Do you know what twisted Saria, killed her and-"

"Will you just _shut up_ about Saria! You deliberately _hurt_ her, damn you, you deliberately _made _her suffer all that pain! Just for a small precaution!?"

"This small precaution is worth everything! Are you not thinking, Cloud? That was the disease that made Jenova! Two hundred years, Cloud! I spent two hundred years hunting down Jenova, following its stink across Planets and seeing the destruction in its wake. Jenova existed once, and I will not let it exist again!"

"You pulled Aeris into your damned revenge! She would not have become Jenova!"

Link laughed, cold and shrill. "Do you know what it takes to become a monster? First is the fear of death, the desire to never be weak. Second is the thirst for power, the desire to grow stronger. Third is the exclusion of others, for your survival comes first. And finally is a source of power to start with. I took away that power."

"_Aeris_ _would not have become Jenova_! You told stories of her being some power hungry demon, sacrificing millions for her own strength! Aeris would never do that! Aeris is kind and gentle, goddamn it unlike you she cares!"

"_And so did Saria_!" Both of them were standing now. This time the silence was pure, uninterrupted by any other sounds. "Do you think she was born a monster? Do you think she was born the way she was? She cared, yes, unlike me she cared! She hated the death I brought; she hated the constant wars I thrived in! The true monster was me, not her, but you saw what Jenova made of her last night! I will not condemn the world with another beast like that! I will not insult Saria's memory by letting Jenova grow once more!"

"We could have prevented Jenova from growing, then! You didn't need to-"

"Do you think you can do what the Cetra could not?" Link barked harshly. "You're trying to make the same mistake I once did. Saria was smarter than me; she knew what the disease entailed. She told me to burn out her magic, to purge the disease completely. I won't let anyone make that mistake again."

"Then why didn't you do it back then? Why did you have to cripple Aeris!?"

"I was selfish, alright?" Link didn't know whether the wetness in his hand was from the spilled beer or his own blood. "I wanted to go home! I valued her magic more than I valued her sanity, so when she begged for me to destroy it I pretended I couldn't! Only she had the right magic to bring us home. I wanted to go home…"

That argument did not console Cloud much. "And now you may have just doomed this Planet! Sephiroth plans on hammering this Planet with a bloody meteor, and you just took away the only way of stopping it!" He jabbed an accusing finger at Link. "You wanted to go home? You've just destroyed ours! What does it take to satisfy your selfishness!?"

"Redemption." Link ignored the stings in his palm as he grasped the doorknob. "I will not rest until Jenova is destroyed. It is better that just one Planet will be destroyed rather than a hundred more."

The door slammed shut. When Cloud opened it to chase Link, he had already disappeared.

_-S-_

For the following days Cloud and Link weren't exactly on speaking terms. The air between the two became frigid when Aeris entered her dream lapses, where she experienced the pain and fire in her mind and screamed as if it was occurring again. Yuffie and Tifa spent most of their time attending Aeris, leaving the rest to try and make conversation in the strangling atmosphere.

"So," Red XIII started, "where do we go from now? After Sephiroth, naturally, but which way?"

"North." Cloud's answer stayed clear and concise.

"Alrigh'," Barret scratched his beard with his arm, "how'd you know?"

Cloud remained silent.

Cid drummed his fingers against the table. Vincent stood quietly in the corner. Cait Sith was trying to play a game of solitaire.

"So," Red XIII tried again, "aside from Aeris losing her magic, is there anything else we need to know?"

Cloud kicked the table irritably. Cait Sith quietly picked up his scattered cards.

"No-" Link started, but shook his head. "She'll be thirsty for a while. Maybe mute, I don't know."

Cloud kicked the table again. Cait Sith gave up and left the cards on the ground.

"'Kay," Cid rapped his hand against the wood, "so what we do in th' meantime?"

"We wait."

Vincent rubbed his forehead tiredly, but stayed standing where he was.

The ticking of the clock in the next room sounded really loud then. Cid swapped into the quieter twiddling of thumbs, eyes darting between stony Cloud and stony Link.

"Aw hell," he snapped, scraping the chair back as he stood up, "the 'ell's wrong with you two? All grim an' gloomy, ya look like someone's dead!"

"We all are." Cloud shot Link a bitter look.

"Great, that jus' answers the question," Cid rolled his eyes, "but could ya be bit more descriptive?"

Link snorted in amusement. "What would it take to stop a menace, Cid? Would you sacrifice your closest friend for the safety of the entire population?"

"Well-"

"Would you sacrifice Aeris, Cid?" Cloud cut in, "Would you sacrifice her?"

If it was quiet before, it was truly silent now. In the flash of synapses and narrowed eyes time stretched and the clock was silent.

"What is this about," Cid growled, "what is all this about?"

"There are greater demons playing their game," Cloud stood at the inn's entrance, reminiscent of Link's posture the previous day, "and one of them is gambling with us as the chips."

As he slammed the door, Vincent moved from his position to place a firm hand on Link's shoulder. "I think you have a bit of explaining to do."

Link sighed, shaking his head. He hoped this lot took it better than Cloud did. "Once before, I tried to cleanse Jenova from Saria. The technique I used yesterday was Saria's design, the one I used first was my own. My own version didn't sacrifice a person's magic, but the costs were so much greater…"

_-S-_

"What's going on, Cloud?" Tifa carried a paper bag filled with ointments and bandages, behind her Yuffie holding a set of Aeris' clothes, pressed and cleaned. "Why are you walking around in such a foul mood?"

Cloud wheeled so sharply that the two took a step back in surprise. "Will you sacrifice your friends to achieve revenge, Tifa? Would you throw away the lives of those near you for that goal, Yuffie?"

"Of course not-"

"Do you know what Link did?" Cloud snarled, pointing an accusing finger back at the inn, "He threw away our chance at preventing Sephiroth for his vendetta against Jenova! We all saw what a monster he can become in battle against her, but we never suspected that hate would bleed into his decisions about us!"

"What are you talking about, Cloud?"

"His reasons for the immediate treatment for Aeris? He was lying, that bastard was lying…"

_-S-_

"Well, this is an uncomfortable problem," Link sighed as he sat next to Aeris' bed. The others offered to give him privacy as he talked to her inert form, but he was pretty sure someone was standing just outside the door. "Most of the guys agree with me, the girls hate me, and Cloud can't spend a minute in the same room as me without kicking something."

Aeris' eyes were open, but vacant. She was dressed in a loose bathrobe with her dress folded nicely on the chair in the corner. Link gently moved the collar of the robe to prevent anything indecent from showing.

No reaction. She probably wasn't listening.

"If Sephiroth did not mean to kill you – hard to believe, with his sword and all – then he meant to fracture the group, to break our spirit." Rubbing his temples, he closed his eyes for a moment. "He succeeded, alright. Vincent, Red XIII and Cid had to wrestle Tifa and Yuffie away to let me just sit here, whilst Barret stood Cloud down. Cait Sith doesn't seem to be choosing a side, but I think he agrees more with Cloud than with me." Link chuckled. "I guess my threat to shred him didn't win me any favours."

He reached forward, pressing the back of his hand against her forehead. "You don't have a fever anymore, so the majority of the pain should have passed." Laughing sadly, he continued, "it's probably hard for you to believe, but you got off lucky: you only really experienced four hours, where I experienced four months. In my bungling, Saria had to face hers for half a year… the scars of pain never fade, do they? Still, for the short time you felt it, it was very real. Too real, and equally dangerous."

It was hard for an inert person to say anything, but Link faced this experience before and read Aeris' open mouth and parched lips correctly. Pouring water from the nearby pitcher into a glass, he rested the edge gently on her lower lip, waiting for her mouth to open wider before pouring the contents carefully in, pausing occasionally to let her swallow.

"You know, the Cetra said that there's a type of poisoning that has symptoms similar to this." He picked up a towel and wiped away the water that spilled across her cheek. "Awareness to the unready, acceptance to the early. I think people now call it Mako poisoning. There's less pain, I guess, but the state of doing nothing lasts a lot longer."

There were shouts outside now – Tifa had managed to wrestle free from her guard and was arguing with Barret outside. Link shook his head wearily and planted a light kiss on Aeris' forehead. "They don't like me here, it's easy to tell. Rest well, Aeris, but don't take too long. We're waiting for you." He cast an amused glance at the noise outside. "Cloud's waiting for you."

He tied the cord for his amulet around her neck and left.

_-S-_

There was nothing like the emptiness that ached within her, a feeling from the lack of feeling, a pain that resonated from the loss of everything else. Aeris would not have described it like the needles of numbness, or the sharp spear of injury, or the weights of fatigue…

It was more like fire, like being burnt alive, an imagined heat roasting your heart and throat, worming its way into your gut and from there spilling free like maggots to chew into the corners of your mind.

Aeris wanted to cry. She wanted to scream, to shout, to call for help, to never be this _alone_ in the ocean of fire, but she could not see outside this realm of oblivion, she could not even hear her own voice.

Sometimes, the heat would lessen when water passed her lips. In those moments the pain that racked her mind and soul would fall to a small kindle, and she just wanted to call for more water, but not all her senses would return.

In those moments when lucidness returned and the fires didn't rage and fiercely, she could hear small snapshots of the world.

"… doctor doesn't know what's wrong himself…" Tifa's voice. Aeris wanted to say that she didn't know what was going on either, that she was afraid of her existence between the border of life and death, trapped in the region that belongs to both, that she wanted out _please gods_ someone save her from the fires and unheard screams…

"…says this is recovery. This can't be her getting better…" Yuffie's voice. Who says? Who knows? Who _dares_ to say that this is the better part? Aeris feared the fires and the swords of the main disease, she was _afraid_, but back then she could think, she could speak, she could talk and she would be heard. Here she was alone, so lonely so afraid so painful with her window to the world drifting with the roar of the fires.

"…s'alright, girl. Yeh'll be fine, don't worry." Barret's voice. No, it _was not alright_! Couldn't they see the fires that trapped her? Couldn't they hear her cries for help? Couldn't they feel the fear of pain and death weigh the air, strangling, choking, drowning her?

No. They couldn't. None of them could.

"… a strong girl, Aeris, she'll pull through…" Red XIII's voice. Strong, he believed? Strong? No, trapped away from everyone with everything she did amounting to _nothing_ Aeris knew the truth about herself. She was weak, a pathetic being that lies prey to her own fear of dying, her fear of the fire that surrounds her. She wanted to be strong, she wanted to be stronger, but right now she was afraid.

"… won't die, will she?" Cait Sith's voice. Aeris wanted escape, any escape from this state of oblivion, of eternal fire and burning memories. She didn't want to feel this torture anymore, she wanted to be free, she wanted to die…

… no, that was not true. Aeris was too afraid of death, a fear that ruled her greater than her fear of fire. She didn't want to die, she wanted to live, she wanted to never see the guise of Death.

"…c'mon, Aeris, get yer butt in gear, stop lyin' around…" Cid's voice. Did they all think she was just lying there, doing nothing? Did they think she wasn't doing a damn to get out of her hell?

Because, damn it, they were right. Everything she did amounted to nothing. She was trapped, alone, and she couldn't get out.

"…hope you can forgive him, because I definitely can't…" Cloud's voice. Forgiveness, for who? Aeris was in no state to do anything other than pity herself. Forgive what? Her state of being afraid, surrounded and trapped by fire, dying everyday and living to die once more? Aeris could not forgive anyone, not for that.

A small warmth blossomed on her forehead. Contact, intimate contact… she was not alone…

"… waiting for you." Link's voice. A pause. "Cloud's waiting for you."

And then silence…

"_We are so sorry, Daughter."_

"_You've suffered much, my Child, more than I ever feared you will."_

The Lifestream… who are you, how can you reach me?

"_The Ancient has given us this opportunity, my Daughter. Don't be afraid anymore, don't be afraid."_

"_I'm sorry I left you, but I wanted you to be free. You're never alone. I'm so sorry."_

This wasn't the usual echo of the Lifestream. This time it spoke with a familiar voice, one that reminded her of white coats and a train station… and warmth, the comforting warmth of being loved.

"_Escape from your fear. Be free, Daughter."_

"_Be free, my Child. I'm so sorry. Be free…"_

Her first words when she broke away from the nightmare were not shouted, but whispered. It was not a common word for Aeris either, but when her eyes actually _saw_, tears leaked free as she watched the starlight paint the room.

"Mother…"

_-S-_

No one could believe their eyes when Aeris staggered down the stairs that night. They were still in mute shock when she tumbled into the nearest person – Vincent in this case – grasped his clothes and cried.

"Hold her close," Link called from his seat, "let her know that she's not alone." Facing Cloud's still form, he said, "Go to her. She needs you most of all."

There were no sharp retorts this time. Everyone rushed to Aeris, Yuffie throwing off Vincent's awkward arm to hug her, Tifa crying as well as Barret and Cid let off whoops in celebration, Cait Sith jumping off his moogle to hug her as Red XIII muzzled her legs, and Vincent moving aside to let Cloud take the central role as she cried into his shirt, crying from the pain and fear she felt, crying for the company that held her close, crying…

Link smiled lightly, and unnoticed walked out the door.

_-S-_

While Aeris spent the days recuperating indoors, Link spent most of the time outside, admiring the giant bone structure, sitting on the roof, talking with the locals and trying to beat the dealers at bargaining. Any observer would have imagined him one of the people if it wasn't for his ninja garb – someone once asked him whether he felt cold wearing so little – and the sad look he perpetually held.

He spent most of his evenings in the back of the inn where the innkeeper kept a garden – the flowers were not as varied as most gardens were given that only the brown petal cherry could weather the climate – but where the setting sun reflected off the collecting frost, light green giving way to pale white, Link could almost imagine that he was in a forest somewhere, somewhere close to home…

"Cloud won't tell me why he doesn't want me to talk to you." Link was startled out of his reverie by the female voice. Wiping the grass off his trousers, he turned around to smile genially at Aeris. "I'd like to thank you anyway. Thank you for helping me." She shivered, clutching the amulet before letting go.

With the coming night breeze, it was no surprise Aeris might have felt cold: she still chose to wear the bathrobe, although this time with a nightgown inside. Ignoring the dirt she sat down next to Link, patting the ground in a gesture for him to do the same.

"The Planet protects its Children, and the Lifestream cares for the Cetra," he said quietly, watching the sun skim the horizon. "Your thanks should go to those two, and all your friends for supporting you."

She nodded, shivered, and leaned into Link for additional warmth. "How did you survive? How could you stand it?" A question without a subject, but he knew what she was asking.

"Trapped in space, a maze without walls, every single moment was filled with questions of my existence. Was I alive? Did death really hurt this much? All I knew was that I was not meant to die, not yet, not there where I had nothing and no one knew I existed." Link could detect the presence of someone standing a few metres behind them, but so far that person was content to remain watching. "Also, back then Saria was not sick, not yet. I knew that if I died, I would leave her alone. You know the feeling, to be alone and surrounded by an abyss of space, trapped and incapable to do anything, to call out and know no one's there to hear you… I could not condemn her to that, not after all the trouble I've caused. There was nothing else to do but get better."

Aeris nodded, pressing closer to him as she shivered. The sun now shared its light but little of its warmth. "I was so afraid," she whispered, "afraid of death, afraid of my weaknesses, afraid of myself, afraid of my own fear," her shivers were not from the cold, Link realised, "I felt so pathetic, wanting to die but too afraid to. I wanted to be strong but was afraid of strength, I was so tired of being scared of everything." Her voice was bitter with loathing.

Link nodded silently. "Are you still afraid now?"

"No, yes," she was crying now, "heavens I'm still afraid. I want to be strong, I want to be strong and independent and no longer afraid of everything that might just kill me but I can't, not anymore." The person behind shifted, but made no movement to reach the two. "My magic, I've lost my magic. I'm weak, I'm helpless, I hate myself at how much I'm afraid."

"The disease of Jenova," Link sighed, pulling an arm back to stroke Aeris' back gently, "the fear of weakness, the greed for strength, the hate of fear. Pain and dying is the side effect – the annihilation of the former spirit, the soul replaced with an embittered and vicious one, that is what drives this disease." Exhaling deeply, he gave Aeris an encouraging shake. "Why did you choose to talk to me?"

"Because you understand," she replied. "Cloud, Tifa and the others, they care but they can't understand what I mean when I say that I'm afraid or I'm lonely. They remember me from weeks ago, bubbly, chirpy Aeris that never lets the world weigh her down, but they can't understand what it meant to be burnt alive, to die and die and keep on dying and being afraid every time." She was tired of crying, it was so unlike herself that she feared who she was and hated that fear, but the tears kept coming. "Are you still afraid?"

"Me?" Link scratched his head, watching a bird flutter down in front of them silently. It pecked around the grass for a while before flying off. "I am more tired than afraid now. The fear of death has left me centuries ago, and now all I feel is the memory of Jenova and the people its disease has consumed."

"This disease, the burning and the fear, this was what killed the Cetra, isn't it?"

Link's arm moved from stroking her back to encompassing her. "I'm sorry."

Her shivers had grown into shakes now. "How… why did I survive?"

Link sighed. In some ways he wondered about that too. The Lifestream knew what the fire was being used for, in some sense it knew, yet when he gave the amulet to her with little direction it supplied the fire itself. It destroyed the connection that allowed her to feel it for the risk of Jenova. How did it do it? Supporting her shoulders, he helped her stand up. Looking back the person behind them had left. "It wasn't your time to die. In any case, the better question is how you will keep surviving."

Aeris stumbled when he released his grip, but managed to keep her balance. "I don't know," she choked, looking at her palms, "I lost my magic. I feel so weak, so useless."

Only looking at her palms, she was surprised when she felt the weight of Link's sword suddenly resting in them. Clumsily gripping the scabbard, she looked up at his awkward grin.

"We still have an hour of daylight left. Lesson one, how to hold a sword." Glancing at the sky, he nodded affirmatively. "And when the moon rises, lesson two, how to use the amulet." Smiling more naturally now, he moved over to place her hands on the hilt correctly. "Don't let Jenova take the bubbly, chirpy Aeris away from you."

_-S-_

A/N: Rushed… in three days. Honestly, I felt like it was quite a good piece. Meant to try and get it out for the New Year, but with the Taiwan earthquake and the internet slowing down, it took a while.

For the readers, and **Vladimir the Hamster**, for being patient with me. It's nice to know that I was remembered.

I wanted this chapter to be charged with emotion. Hopefully that part worked. I also hope that the two sides of what Link did – Link's view and Cloud's – came across as believable. Eh, in any case, I mainly hope that you enjoyed the story so far. I have plans on keeping the schism in the group growing, but my idea sounds too soap opera-ish. Anyone up for some team strife?

Yay! Swordswoman at day, spellcaster at night! Go Aeris, wondergirl!

Yeah. Reviews greatly appreciated. And a Happy New Year to you all.

Silence-Darkness


	17. Chapter 16

A/N: Surprise! Bet you didn't expect anything much from me, did you? Well, same here. Right now I should be revising for all my subjects – which from the few practices I did I realise I have big gaping holes in my knowledge – but hey. I got bored of revision.

Edit: exams are over. They were over a month ago. That says a lot about my updating time, eh?

Chapter 16:

_"Tre se'i xleron, Link?"__ /Am I dying, Link?/ Saria whispered._

_His magic was failing. The protective bubble around them rippled; glowing cracks snaked across the dome. Saria gasped from the difficulty to breathe._

_"Te vren leisen, te vren leisen." /You'll be alright, you'll be alright./ Link whispered. He held her close, her small body clutched tightly to his chest._

_Saria__ tilted her head. The magical platform was dissolving at the edges. /In the Forest, we never had to worry about death./_

_"Te vren leisen, sere, vren leisen." /You'll be alright, please, be alright/ Link let his tears fall into her hair. Her tears stained his shirt._

_"Les Kokiri, les fey, svuiron neir paux vonce xleri." /Kokiri and fairies, none of us were meant to die./ She gasped in pain; her fingers clenched tighter to his shirt. _

_Trembles racked her body. Link desperately threw forth his magic, trying anything to maintain the protective environment. _

_Nothing came. A crack ran through the upper dome, a jagged black entry to the void ripping the artificial blue sky. Precious air howled loose as the dome collapsed, a crushed fruit bleeding forth its core._

_Link screamed out a name. He couldn't hear himself over the growing vacuum, his mind was a haze of panic and fear. Maybe it was Saria's name, a last call; maybe it was one of the Goddesses, a final prayer of salvation._

_Finally a spark: Link latched onto that small burst of magic as tightly as he could. Where there was once nothing, the spark grew and flooded his system, more magic than he ever summoned before bottling in his veins and bleeding with his sweat. Desperately he threw it into the dome, mending the crack, regenerating the air, stabilising the balance– _

_– and then his magic disappeared. Flares of unguided power replaced the previous well of waiting magic. But it was alright for now; the dome had been completed._

_Saria's__ breathing was still ragged, but had lost its gulping edge. "Faus fey Shael xlerie. Faus fey Navi xlerie." /But Shael died. But Navi died./ Saria couldn't stop the trembles. "Se'I xleron." /I'm dying./_

_"Sere, te vren parfien."__ /Please, you'll be fine./ Link rocked her gently in his arms. He couldn't see anything past his tears. "Te vren parfien." /You'll be fine./_

_"Se'i paral, Link," /I'm afraid, Link,/ Saria choked, "Se ne'von yul xleri. Se ne'von yul xleri." /I don't want to die. I don't want to die./_

_"Sere, Madeira," _/_Please, Goddesses,/ Link prayed, "leicer Saria." /save Saria./_

_The muted rags of breath and the silence of the abyss was his only answer._

_-S-_

Aeris gritted her teeth and charged. Her arms ached from the weight and strain of the sword. Sweat had plastered her hair across her eyes, but she did not have the time to wipe it aside. Blade high, she released an explosive yell as-

A wooden stick snapped at her wrists, forcing her to let go of the sword. In a deft flick it bopped her on the head before a leg extended and – somewhat gently – kicked her away from the falling blade.

Link sighed. "You have a strange habit of charging in suicide runs." He tossed aside the stick to take his sword.

Aeris trembled with exhaustion on her position sprawled on the wet grass. Her muscles protested too much to allow her to sit up. "Cloud does that all the time," she gasped, wiping the hair from her eyes.

Link peered at the village a distance off. The innkeeper didn't want any sword swinging in his garden, so Link chose a place not far between the fields and forests. The trees acted as a decent barrier against the gently falling snow and the field gave them open space to practice in.

Speaking of Cloud, it was about time for him to walk by in his hourly inspection of their training. Focussing on the village entrance, Link could see a spike of yellow hair passing through the gates.

"Cloud has an extra thirty kilograms behind his sword," Link finally replied, "I need you to be light on your feet rather than powerful." He turned around to face Aeris' direction. "And put on your jacket; sweat and snow isn't a very healthy combination."

Her apparel had been changed to allow for actual swordfighting. Aeris wanted to keep the blouse, but the dress had to be changed for something more practical. Yuffie had presented all sorts of miniskirts and altogether too short shorts – where she found them she wouldn't reveal – but Aeris eventually chose a collection of long trousers made of soft hide.

She rolled over in an attempt to get up. She gave up after a brief struggle. "I'll survive."

True, but Cloud was getting on Link's case for nearly anything regarding Aeris, and he definitely will over her getting sick right after recovering. Link chuckled as he watched Aeris' flailing sweaty form. Best not get Cloud too excitable.

"Aeris, Link!" Link was pulled out of his thoughts by Yuffie's voice shouting from behind. "I hope you like rhubarbs, because that's all we have!"

Turning around he smiled at the approaching group: Tifa and Yuffie were both holding picnic baskets, Barret had somehow managed to find a coat large enough to shield him from the drifting snow and Cait Sith had abandoned the giant Moogle in favour of riding on Red XIII's back. It looked like the entire group chose to come with Cloud.

Cloud glanced at Aeris' collapsed form. "Take a break, Aeris," he gave a sullen glare to Link, "you don't need to push yourself too hard." A brief pause, then, "We'll protect you."

He didn't like the blank look Aeris passed his way before it changed into an amused smile. He didn't like how she looked at Link questioningly before answering him.

"It's alright, Cloud." Stretching, she flopped one more time before accepting Tifa's hand up. "I've always wanted my own knight in shining armour," she smiled at Cloud, "but I don't want to be the damsel in distress."

"The snow really is beautiful," Tifa murmured as she smoothed out the picnic blanket, "we never get days when we can sit back and just enjoy the surroundings." She gave Cloud a pointed look before stepping back to examine the blanket's position beneath the tree. "Now come on, Aeris; no need to look at the basket so longingly."

Thankfully Yuffie's remark about rhubarbs was a joke: there was rhubarb pie, rhubarb crumble and rhubarb pudding, but there was also other fruits, sandwiches and cold meats native to the region. Aeris somehow managed to maintain her feminine grace whilst quickly downing as much food as she could.

"So what're you learning?" Yuffie asked through a mouthful of rhubarb. Tifa rolled her eyes and raised a hand to close Yuffie's jaw.

Aeris glanced at Link. Link nodded. Cloud frowned slightly. "It's not much yet, just getting me quick on my feet. Plenty of drills to build up body strength." She chuckled lightly as she looked at Tifa and Yuffie. "I have a deeper respect for you two now."

"Well," Tifa said, "we've had training since we were pretty small. I bet you had that too," she nodded towards Link, "although I guess a few centuries of practice made you even better."

Link shrugged. "Not any real training, no. I just picked up a sword and… didn't die." He smiled lightly. "I guess surviving this long says something."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "You were never taught? Then how do you know how to teach?"

This time Link's smile widened broadly. "Aeris," he called out loudly, catching everyone's attention, "go show Cloud what I taught you. I'll declare you winner only when you give him a solid spanking."

Barret burst out laughing, but other than that everyone just stared. Yuffie was too busy choking on her rhubarb to make any remarks. Cid was broken out of his shock when his cigarette started burning his hands. Aeris dipped her head down to hide her deep blush, and Tifa was feeling just as embarrassed for her.

"But," Aeris mumbled, all too aware of the gazes on her, "you said I can't fight head on yet."

Link waved her worry off. "You don't have to," he replied airily, "just strike when the opportunity allows. You can hold your own already." Grabbing his sheathed sword he tossed it into her lap and gently nudged her towards the clearing.

Cloud shook his head. "This is stupid, she can't possibly-"

"Scared, Cloud?" Barret gave him a big toothy grin. " 'Fraid our li'l Aeris will whoop yer sorry behind?"

Rolling his eyes, he dragged his sword from its position in the grass and walked into the clearing. "You sure you can do this, Aeris?" His glance darted at Link before returning to her. "This isn't your fight."

She hesitated, but then her face took a more determined edge and nodding once followed him away from the trees. Even with only a week's training they could feel the fighter's aura emanating from her, the grit and determination to strike to win-

"Let's see how rosy those cheeks can get!" Yuffie hooted.

-and immediately the aura was broken as she fumbled with the sword in trying to hide her following blush. It was to Cloud's credit that he only sent Yuffie an annoyed glare.

Vincent sighed and moved away from his position leaning against a tree. Standing between the two fighters he raised his hands, "Ready…"

Aeris fixed her grip, but she was still blushing and couldn't look Cloud in the eyes.

"Set…"

Cloud tried to ignore the group, focussing solely on Aeris' form. He couldn't read any intent from her – had she learnt to hide it, or did she still have no basic plan?

"Begin!" The moment Vincent's red cloak left his view, Cloud charged forward in a straightforward downstroke. While he didn't want to hurt Aeris, he didn't want the fight to last any longer than it should and best not-

With a curse Cloud twisted aside, modifying his grip to parry the thrust at his abdomen. He did not expect Aeris to dart forward. He did not expect her to crouch with her sword extended, and when he slowed to prevent skewering himself he did not expect her to lunge.

Off to the side he could hear Yuffie guffawing and Barret cheering Aeris on. Her face was still flushed, but it was not embarrassment.

Cloud raised an eyebrow when she gave a mischievous grin and twisted around, sword spinning for his head.

He blocked and immediately tripped when the attack melded away as a feint disguising the sweep kick to his ankles.

He briefly enjoyed the view of the falling snow before slashing his sword to push Aeris a distance off.

Excitement. That was it. He didn't expect Aeris to be one to enjoy close up combat either.

Tifa didn't either. "Aeris is getting as far as she is only because Cloud didn't think she'll be a real danger." She frowned when Cloud started getting serious, anticipating Aeris' attacks and countering. "Do you think she can win?"

Link smiled. "Yes," he gestured lazily at the fight, "and for many reasons," he caught their attention, "but none of them because she's a better fighter."

Barret scratched his head. "Then wha's the point of havin' her fight? They're gonna know who shoulda won."

"Reason one," Link commented, ignoring Barret, "is that she knows the ground and he doesn't. Consequently he doesn't know that underneath that thin layer of snow is a rabbit hole." They winced when Cloud's offensive jump was halted when he suddenly stumbled, biting back a curse as he pulled back his ankle.

"Reason two," he continued, "is that Aeris knows most of Cloud's moves, but he doesn't know what she can do. She's surprisingly lithe; she managed to learn the basics of a back flip already." Hampered by a swollen ankle there was not a lot of pressure Cloud could apply against Aeris who darted in and out of range, escaping some of his attacks with the surprising acrobatic twist and leap.

"But really, reason three," he gave a thin smile, "is that Cloud is hesitant to actually strike Aeris. You can see that, he's pulling his punches. Aeris, on the other hand, isn't holding back."

Cloud frowned as he parried Aeris' attacks. They weren't particularly strong – he could feel that she had only started learning how to use a sword, and hadn't been drilled enough to put her entire strength behind a swing – nor were they particularly fast. But there was something about her current style that caused alarms to ring in his mind.

She released a short yell right before her blade slammed into his expecting block. He took the time to admire the effort she was putting into the strike, fists clenched white, chest heaving, eyes focussed – when he realised what was wrong.

Her eyes… were angry.

No. Anger was not it. Whatever it was had transcended past her previous playful and determined look, pushing into deeper into wildness than he expected she was capable of reaching. Eyes quaked in delirium as she forced herself into a greater frenzy.

Suddenly the pressure was gone. Startled, Cloud turned around to find Aeris' sword. Another sweep kick took him, striking hard against his sprained ankle. He staggered back; a sword flicked for his shoulder, barely blocked; a straight slash for his knee, missed; a thrust for his waist, splinters against steel; a curve around his arm, struck true.

Cloud howled in pain as the sword snaked around his wrist, engraving its passage past his gauntlets into his forearm. It kept moving, a direct line towards his ribcage. With a weak curse he dropped his own sword, gripping his arm and pushing it into the blade to push it off course. The blade slid by, whisking past his arm pit.

He stepped back to avoid another sweep only to stumble into another rabbit hole. Cloud twisted to avoid another slash; falling, he managed to bat away the second strike; his side struck the ground, breath expelled, and he realised he had no way to avoid the final sword plant…

Before the blade fell a hand snake forth and plucked the sword from Aeris' grasp. Throwing it aside it gripped her arm tightly, pulling her into the owner's body as it gave her a tight hug. Aeris fought against it, struggling against the hold. Quickly a head appeared over her shoulder – Link's – and whispered gently. Her struggles ceased, and still shaking from the effort she sagged into his form.

Link…

Tifa ran up, and carefully he passed Aeris' weight into Tifa's arms. She gently passed Aeris to Barret before heading to Cloud with her healing Materia.

Link sighed as he looked at Aeris' cradled form. "Maybe Aeris won, maybe Aeris lost."

Everyone looked at her. Concern, wariness, fear?

"What the hell did you teach her?" Cloud growled out. Tifa held his hand as she healed it, but he pulled free to stagger towards Link. He pressed two fingers into Link's chest accusingly.

Link glanced at the hand impassively. "I taught her how to hold a sword."

"Oh, bullshit!" He raised his partially healed arm. "Aeris was not like this before. She would never have fought to want me dead. What the hell did you teach her?"

Link pushed aside the offending fingers. "Jenova's lesson," he said softly, "is to survive, no matter the cost. Caught in a fight, do everything you can to win." He looked back at Aeris' slumbering form before facing Cloud once more. Cloud could see the mix of disappointment and regret on Link's face. When they regained eye contact, he read Link's true message:

Could you have controlled a mage who would stop at nothing?

"As soon as she gets the basics of her sword work, I'll teach her control," Link gave Cloud a side glance before heading back, "and then we'll work out what to do from there."

"No more lessons," Cloud growled, "if she really needs to learn how to fight with a sword I'll teach her." He glared at Link's back, daring him to turn and challenge him. "No more lessons."

Tifa glanced worriedly between the two. "Cloud, I think that's-"

Link sighed and shook his head. "Fair enough." He gave Tifa a grateful nod and departed.

_-S-_

Aeris didn't know how to read the presence of her friends. For one thing, it was nice for them to be around, but their presence bordered on breaking into her privacy. She was in bed – the same one, again, she noticed wryly – and Tifa and Yuffie were sitting close as Barret and Cid challenged Vincent to another game of poker in the corner – judging by the pile of chips and the number of ace of spades on the floor, even though the two were cheating Vincent was still winning. She raised her head; Cait Sith had procured a brush somewhere and was fighting Red XIII's numerous tangles. Cloud was leaning against the closed door, eyes partially closed.

With the number of weapons still hanging in the corners or near their owners it looked like they were doubling as security. Protecting her, or protecting against her?

"Alrigh', yer grumpy faced pistol boy," Barret rumbled gleefully as his slapped down his cards theatrically, "beat that! Full 'ouse, aces trips!"

Two of the aces were spades.

Cid groaned. "Play smarter nex' time, ya moron," he rubbed his face tiredly, "anyways, four o' a kind, all aces." He grinned at Vincent nastily. "Yer goin' down, wonder boy."

Vincent glanced at both hands impassively before revealing his cards. "Royal flush, spades."

Cid groaned once more. "Ah have tha feelin' that his ace is the real un."

Aeris couldn't help but giggle. All eyes turned her way.

"You're awake!" Tifa exclaimed brightly. "Are you feeling better?"

Aeris didn't quite remember feeling bad first to feel better. Come to think of it, she couldn't remember falling asleep either, or the conclusion of her fight with Cloud.

Cloud left his position against the door to walk closer to her bed. "Alright now, Aeris?" Even through his grumpy exterior – arms still crossed, frown as permanently etched as ever – she could tell that he was worried.

Aeris looked around and counter their numbers. "Where's Link?"

Cloud's frown deepened. Surprisingly, it was Vincent that answered. "Off buying more supplies, I would imagine. Despite being in this northern region for a while he still hasn't bought a jacket or cloak yet. I think he mentioned getting a knife to carve a wooden practice sword."

Ah. Speaking of which… "I think the excitement caught me our fight, Cloud," I apologise, "I'm sorry for fainting half way through. I probably made a lousy opponent."

Why are the others glancing among one another like that?

"It's alright," Cloud answers after a moment of hesitation, "we'll help you get better at it."

Aeris nodded, mentally filing that not many were willing to look at her eye to eye. Something definitely happened. "So when's my next training session with Link?"

Cloud's answer was interrupted by a delicate cough from Tifa. "Cloud decided that he'll train you now, and Link agreed to the arrangements. I might be able to chip in here and there too," she added more brightly, "so no more secret training sessions in the corner of the woods somewhere."

Yuffie snorted. "Aw, screw that story Tifa." She leaned forward until her face was right in front of Aeris'. Chocobo-hair boy here got jealous of Link stealing his quality time with you, princess."

Aeris blinked. Cloud rolled his eyes then glared at Yuffie as Tifa quietly scolded her. He walked back to the door. "Take your time, Aeris," he called out before he left, "We'll continue your lessons when you're ready."

Aeris looked at the remaining group. "Did something happen?"

Barret shifted in his seat uneasily. "Well, uh…"

"Between Link and Cloud," Aeris clarified, "I keep getting the feel that Cloud's angry."

_-S-_

"You know," Link started casually as he dug through his purchased items, "you asked me what the point of getting Aeris to fight now was."

"Yeah, I remember," Barret grunted from his seat on the porch, "still wanna know the answer, too."

Link fished out the carving knife and planks of wood. It would be a very crude practice sword, he decided, but it hopefully won't break after one hit. "Would you believe me if I said it was to give her fighting experience?"

Barret shrugged. In the distance, right outside the village gate, Cloud was starting Aeris' new sword practices. He guessed one reason Link chose a forest region was to avoid the crowd of citizens watching. "I s'pose, but m'feeling is that yer reasons go a bit deeper."

"It does," Link agreed, "but what I said is true. It's best that she starts fighting against someone who isn't her trainer, but isn't her enemy either. Someone who would hold back to make sure she's safe. Cloud fits the bill perfectly."

The crowd oohed as Cloud did a chained a series of strokes together. "I guess," Barret accepted, "but wha' about them other reasons? Y'knew she'd go off later, din't you?"

"Better that you all know it is possible now," Link sighed, "than having it blow up in our faces later." He chuckled darkly. "In the beginning, everyone loses control. I did. Jenova unleashed her infected victims to slow me down. They surrounded me; some had to die but most could be saved, but the trigger broke." He pointed to Aeris. "A week passed, I awoke and looked around." Red, red on the city of white. Red walls, red roads, and corpses, bled of all life.

"An' how many…?"

_He can be saved. They can be saved._

_No. No time. Kill._

_She cannot be saved. They must die._

_Yes. Kill them. Die._

_It's early in that child. He can be saved._

_Death will save him. Kill. Kill. Kill kill kill killkillkillkill_

"The entire city: fifty thousand." He stared at his hands silently for a while. "All dead just from swinging a sword. Jenova makes you a monster. If I had my magic, then…"

Barret nodded silently. He looked back at the training group. "Hey, they're movin' away. You goin' to follow?"

Link shook his head. "Aeris is surprisingly shy about having people watch her train. She'll be better off training alone."

A truth Aeris would have been glad Link discovered. Even then, finally isolated from the spectator eyes of the town, she felt uncomfortable training with someone else. While Link was teaching her his method seemed a bit… gung ho, or at least casual. It was unnerving holding a sword underneath Cloud's eyes, measuring, judging, expecting…

"Well," he said, "you understand the theory, right? Especially against a crowd of monsters – which we face all too often – it's best to kill each in less than three strokes. So either the first stroke is the killing one or a feint with a follow up." He paused and mulled it over. "Block and counter when needed."

Aeris nodded hesitantly. "I understand the concept, but…" she compared her sword – Link's sword, really – to Cloud's. "Link says that tactic wouldn't work for me, since I don't have the strength to deliver powerful blows. He told me to be more defensive."

Cloud sighed and rubbed his temples. "I suppose. Enough theory. Try a straight up charge; we'll see what you can do so far."

She flexed her grip on the sword before running forwards. With a flick of her wrist she shifted her sword from a horizontal spear into an over shoulder slash. With a burst of effort her blade smashed into Cloud's. She winced to protect her eyes from the sparks, but opened one quickly to guide her blade around Cloud's and towards his chest.

A flick of his wrist sent her sword flying free of her grasp. He nodded. "Your technique is not bad, but needs more strength behind it. It could also do to be more aggressive."

Aeris shook her head. "Link said that I won't be able to reach the needed muscle mass quickly enough, and said something about hit and run like Yuffie – is something wrong, Cloud?"

His hand was raised and was gently massaging his temples. "Could you," he started but stopped. Shaking his head, he said, "While we're here don't talk about Link."

Aeris sheathed the sword and approached to stand right in front of him. "Why, Cloud?" Her voice was soft but her body language demanded an answer. "What's wrong? Why don't you trust Link?"

"How can you?" He gestured angrily. "We don't know who he is or why he's with us, he doesn't explain what he does and you, he…"

"He understands me," Aeris cut in gently. She took a step forward to shorten the distance. "He knows Jenova's disease. Can you understand the fear of death, Cloud?" She leaned forward until her head rested against his shoulder. "Can you understand the pain of having your body ripped away from you? Can you understand the horror of having your mind being eaten away and gradually replaced?" She shuddered briefly and looked up at him earnestly. "Jenova… has changed me, but Link understands. I trust him."

For a brief moment Cloud could only admire her face, the life within her eyes, and just imagine what someone else would see, two people standing close and nearly nose to nose, and with a leap in his heart he just wished… but the moment passed, and Cloud dropped eye contact. "I just… I believe his goals and our goals don't always match."

"What are your goals?" Aeris queried quietly.

Ironic how the quiet and the breeze reminded Cloud of the lights and fanfare of the Golden Saucer. He sighed, took a step back and turned around. "Keeping you alive. Keeping you safe, keeping you…" He shook his head. "My goal is your safety. Link's goal isn't."

"And Sephiroth, and the Black Materia?"

Cloud strapped his sword back to place. "I think that's enough swordplay for today. We'll work on it tomorrow."

_-S-_

"We are pressing forward."

That perhaps, Link mused, was among the worst things to say. It struck everyone as a surprise whilst the shock of Aeris' recovery held them complacent; it was said by him, who never gave a command; it was a command, and a command that wasn't given by Cloud. It was a challenge to Cloud's top dog status.

Ah, implications, implications…

Everyone paused from their dinner to look at Link. No, not everyone: Aeris bowed her head lower still. Vincent appeared unsurprised from the order, and imperceptibly nodded his agreement; Yuffie looked a bit lost, and glanced between Link and Aeris; Cloud's scowl deepened.

"I was thinking more along the lines that we are heading back." Cloud shifted in his chair to directly face Link. "Hunting for Sephiroth through the snow right now is pointless, especially since he never leaves any tracks to follow."

Barret nodded with a mumbled "goddam' creepy floatin' bastard," but stopped when everyone was still silent.

"We can't give him too much free time," Link argued, "Sephiroth is planning something. Jenova is planning something. We cannot ignore Saria's warnings, we have to act fast."

"_You_ cannot ignore Saria's warnings," Cloud drawled, "_we_ have nothing to do with your vendetta against Jenova. Attempting to track Sephiroth like this is a waste of time. Do you even know where to go?"

Link closed his eyes. "Well, n-"

_"Jenova is planning something, a final feast of magic."_

Saria's warning…

_"Are you prepared, Outlander? You have to trigger the trap and force Jenova's magic against her. A desperate finale, if you will; if you fail, Jenova shall keep growing, and existence dies."_

Their prayers of survival…

_"Dear Link, you cannot stop me! Is this the best you can do? Your Cetra lie dead and devoured! Let the crumbling of their civilisation be the ceremonial chimes of my ascension! Let this corrupted wasteland be the stage of your defeat! You, dear Link, rely on the Cetra toy for power. Your magic is no challenge against mine!" _

… left unanswered…

_"Those Cetra… that was your last feast.__ This is your grave, Jenova, and your magic…" _

_The call of the Lifestream…_

_… the inversion of oblivion…_

_… Black Ice…_

_"… is your death."_

The final battleground, and her frozen imprisonment…

Link's eyes snapped open. "To the frozen north, past the City of the Ancients and into the heart of the glaciers." He looked at everyone. "We have to get there. Fast."

Tifa bit her lip. "Are you sure-"

"We're not going," Cloud interrupted, "even with a general direction we're going to get lost in there for no reason. It's too dangerous."

"An' we're gonna jus' sit 'ere for the time bein'?" Cid countered doubtfully. "While I sorta agree with yeh, Cloud, yeh're takin' the path of a goddam coward, y'know that?"

Cloud faced Cid levelly. "No one dies this way."

Red XIII sighed. "Very well, we'll wait until we get better information. Does everyone agree with that?"

Hesitantly Cait Sith, Tifa, Barret and Cid nodded. Aeris' head was still bowed as if she had been ignoring the conversation. Vincent shook his head slightly, and Yuffie looked around lost.

"What the hell is going on?" Frustrated she finally cried out. "Who's dying? Where are we going? How'd Link know? And what does anything have to do with anything?"

Cid groaned and tilted his chair further back. "Nothin', Yuffie, don't worry yer pretty li'l head," he drew a long breath from his cigarette, "we ain't goin' nowhere yet."

_-S-_

Cloud decided he was not much of a morning person. Back then most of his mercenary jobs were done in the evening, or near midnight. Mornings were not times to go about with any additional mental activity.

"Link's gone!"

Cloud's face showed no surprise. He was not surprised; at some point he expected Link to leave. It wasn't as if Link actually joined the group, although Cloud can't remember what the division line was between being part of the group and not. He nodded to Tifa's panicked form and took a sip of his coffee.

"He took quite a lot in supplies, but very little cash." Cait Sith leaned deeper into their collective vault. "Probably expects us to buy it again."

Then again, everyone sort of… tagged along, Cloud concluded. The core group really consisted of Tifa and Barret. Cloud was meant to work part-time.

"Vincent left as well!" Tifa left Vincent's room with a slip of paper. "He wrote something: _I saw the birth of evil, I will see the death of it. We all have our duties to fulfil._" She sighed and went about knocking everyone's door.

Cloud nodded calmly. Vincent was another latecomer, come to think of it he joined slightly after Link. He also had his own vendetta against Sephiroth. Cloud didn't actually expect Vincent to break away from the main group, but it wasn't all that surprising. He counted through the group: those two really make the numbers with vendettas. Unless you counted Barret against Shinra, but Barret was shouting a fuss over the missing supplies behind him.

"Anything else missing?" he called out to Cait Sith. The stuffed cat had frozen after checking on their Materia.

"Oh, damn it." Tifa brushed her bangs away from her eyes. "Yuffie left as well."

"With all our Materia," Cait Sith mewed, "again. Aside from the few we had equipped on ourselves, she took the rest."

"Wonderful," Cloud exhaled. "Any reason why she left?" He was starting to hate this particular morning. Link he expected. Vincent he understood. Yuffie had no reason to go marching into the snow.

"She left a note as well: _While you were sleeping I played with your fortune machine, Cait Sith. I think I broke it. Anyway, it told me 'Run Away!' and I said 'Screw you!' So. Here I am. Or am not. Hm. Well, I'm the best nature survivor this group has – you try and get from Wutai to some ugly forest near Junon by foot – and my feeling is that it's best used here. Or not here. Hm. Cheerio!"_

"Wonderful," Cloud repeated, "so we've lost Yuffie as well." He frowned. "That put's a real dent in how we move through the wild." As a fighting unit their departures hadn't hurt Cloud too much – the real tankers were him, Cid and Barret anyway. But the loss of their individual skills made things a lot more complicated. "We're not missing anyone else, right?"

He looked around the room. Barret, Tifa, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Cid…

Tifa cleared her throat. "One more note: _I'm sorry Cloud. I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid. Sephiroth scares me, but I won't be afraid. I'm sorry everyone. Stay safe. Love, Aeris._"

_-S-_

"Why did you choose to come along, Aeris?" Link called out over his shoulder. The wind flapped his newly bought hooded cloak, spraying his form with snow. Link ignored it.

She pulled her mouth free from its place buried in her scarf. She was very grateful that Link insisted she buy her heavy jacket before the training sessions. "Cloud won't act against the Black Materia now," her words were nearly stolen by the wind, "he's afraid to act." She kept her eyes to ground to watch her footing on the ice. "Now isn't the time to be afraid."

Yuffie shivered underneath her makeshift cloak, a stolen fluffy bath towel. "D-don't g-get any ideas, Vin-ncent," she chattered, "b-but I'm sharing your c-cloak." Without waiting for any protest she huddled underneath his red cloak and pressed as closely as she could to his body. Her face was one of frozen misery; Link noted to get her better gear if they found another town.

"I'm more than twice your age," Vincent stated as Yuffie shifted the towel to allow the warmth to travel better.

"B-be a gent-tleman!" She snapped, "Arm around wais-st!" A pause and then a shriek. "N-not that arm! Fleshy one, fleshy one!"

"Sorry Yuffie," Link apologised, "but you'll have to endure this for a while. And Aeris, take my sword." Through her thick gloves she managed to catch it. "Our visibility's pretty bad, but so should everything else's be. But just in case."

She looked at him questioningly. "What are you going to use?"

He fiddled with something underneath his cloak. "The wooden sword I made came out as a stick. So with a bit of improvising and altering," he pulled the wooden shaft from behind his back, "I made a bow." He smiled grimly. "The journey is going to be hard, but we all have walked harder roads. We'll be alright. Let's keep moving."

Aeris looked up from the ground to see Link's cloak flap once more in the wind before being buckled tightly to him. "What are your goals?" He gave her a short glance before focussing on his own path, and at once Aeris knew the answer.

Forgiveness. Revenge. Redemption.

She shivered. Cloud was right; survival wasn't one of them.

_-S-_

A/N: Hmm… don't quite like the mood balance in this chapter. I wanted to make it dark and serious, but I felt that all this Link vs Cloud (would love to see that in a game like Smash Bros) was too heavy. So enter Yuffie; she's a character any author can work with.

Gave Tifa more lines today! Strange that as a central character in the game I've kind of been ignoring her in my story, mainly because I can't quite capture her personality. Barret and Cid is street, Vincent's stony, Cloud grumpy… No idea for Cait Sith or Red XIII, for that matter. Anyway, she plays a larger role later on.

Still unhappy with the balance. I guess not writing for this long does make you really rusty. As always, comments welcome. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the tantalising possibilities hereafter. A special thanks to **Shadow Rave, Vladimir the Hamster **and **stint alemany Byrd** for giving motivation when my morale was flagging. Remember, the random comment or PM a couple of months down the line does wonders for your drive!

Now expect Odyssey Blade to update before the 30th of this month.


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